The Zapata Times 2/12/2011

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SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2011

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ENTERTAINMENT

MEXICO VIOLENCE

Kickoff set for 2011 Fair

Gunfighting kill 10

The best little-town fair in Texas is coming

Soldiers battle gunmen across state, find marijuana THE ZAPATA TIMES

Ten men died in confrontations with soldiers from Nuevo Laredo to Matamoros earlier this week, including some along the frontera chica, according to a news release issued by the Mexican army.

Meanwhile, the national Department of Defense reported that soldiers discovered more than three tons of marijuana buried in a pit near the Santo Niño neighborhood in Díaz Ordaz last weekend. The weed was found in 513 bundles. No one was arrested, and no other

details about the find were made available.

The official bulletin about the 10 deaths alleges that they were all members of organized crime. All of the reported incidents occurred on Tuesday. The men died in Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Mier, Miguel Alemán and

Matamoros. None of the names of the deceased were released.

As a result of the three fatal confrontations, soldiers seized some cash in pesos and U.S. dollars, numerous grenades, about 5,200 clips, 186 loaders

See MEXICO PAGE 14A

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Volunteers and staffers are busy putting the final touches on preparations for the 39th Zapata County Fair, and this week sees a preview of the beauty and fun to come.

Wednesday, there will be a major kickoff event at the Zapata County Courthoue at 7 p.m. All past Zapata Fair Queens and their courts are invited to attend the celebration for the Zapata County Fair Queen and Court Reunion.

washington’s birthday

celebration association

114TH

F EST I VA L

BIRTHDAY INVITATIONS

Warm welcome Organizers invite residents and visitors alike to come shake hands with Zapata’s royalty and meet this year’s parade marshal.

In 2009, the marshal was actually two people: Juanita and Osvaldo Ramirez, two of Zapata’s most beloved residents. The two retired educators are quiet philanthropists who support numerous student activities.

The grand fair, organized by the Zapata County Fair Association, runs from Feb. 19 through March 12. One of the biggest weekends will be March 5 with the traditional trail ride, annual fajita cook-off and the ABKCsanctioned pitbull dog show.

“We take great pride in the work we do on behalf of the residents of Zapata County and of our many volunteers and staff members who spend countless hours working on the many aspects of this annual event,” writes Rosendo “Lupe” Canales, Zapata County Fair president, in his welcome letter to fair-goers.

“We sincerely thank everyone for their hard work.”

Something for all Canales notes this is going to be a great fair, with plenty of music and food for all ages.

Headliners include La Mafia, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales and Ramon Ayala. There’s also the fundraising livestock auctions that benefit Zapata’s youth as well as entertaining and informative 4-H and FFA exhibitions.

The fair is a three-weekend event that features pageants. “(We) hope that your visit is fun-filled and creates memories to last a lifetime,” Canales concludes in his letter. “And, be sure to let your friends and neighbors know what a great time you had at the biggest little-town fair in Texas!”

Courtesy photo by Bob Daemmrich

The Washington’s Birthday Celebration Association visited the state capitol last month to invite state leaders to the 114th celebration. Celebration ambassadors in costume include, left to right, Chief Fire Mountain-Keeper of the Sacred Stones Alex Jacob Cavazos; U.S. Abrazo children Katarina Garcia and Evan A. Valls; Mexico Abrazo children Paloma Chapa Mendoza and Ernesto Carlos Knosel Reina; Princess Pocahontas Rosemary Therese Santos; Betty Ann Moreno portraying Martha Washington; and Frank C. Averill Jr. portraying George Washington. Officials, right to left, are Sen. Judith Zaffirini; Rep. Ryan Guillen; Adrienne Treviño of BBVA Compass and a WBCA board member; James Notzon of BBVA Compass and a WBCA board member; Susan Foster, president of WBCA; San Juanita Torres, Princess Pocahontas Council president; Amelia E. Bravo of BBVA Compass, International Good Neighbor Council president and WBCA board member; Pati G. Guajardo, WBCA second vice president; Giampaolo Consigliere, city president of BBVA Compass; Texas House Speaker Joe Straus III (next to Pocahontas); Jose A. Palacios Jr., WBCA president-elect (behind Straus); Rep. Richard Ryamond; and Anna Gutierrez Volpe, president of the Society of Martha Washington. The celebration is in full swing.

See story, 8A.

ADOPT-A-FAMILY

Food bank to distribute food Wednesday

By SALO OTERO SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

A special food distribution day for families participating in the Adopt-A-Family program has been set by the South Texas Food Bank from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Wednesday at the Helping Hands agency on 8th Street and Del

Mar, off U.S. 83.

Beginning at 10 a.m. families will pick up their monthly food bags. In cooperation with the South Texas Food Bank’s Ranchers for the Hungry, the bag will include either fresh venison or beef.

Also, South Texas Food Bank staffers will be at the Helping

Hands site cooking burgers for the families and guests.

“This event is to promote the Ranchers for the Hungry program and not just to give our clients the meat, but also to cook a sample,” said Cindy Liendo Espinoza, South Texas Food Bank chief development officer.

Also expected to attend the

event is Zapata County Treasurer Romeo Salinas, who sserves on the South Texas Food Bank board. Norma Mendoza is director of Helping Hands.

The adopt-a-family program has 45 clients in Zapata and serves more than 800 families

See FOOD PAGE 14A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, FEB. 12 Bass Champs will be holding its grass roots fishing tournament today at Zapata’s Public Boat Ramp.

For more information about registration, call (956) 765-4871.

Bring the entire family to the Laredo Community College Fort McIntosh Campus for the annual Family Fun Fest and Musicale from noon to 5 p.m. today. Admission to this popular Washington’s Birthday Celebration outdoor festival is free and open to the public. For more information, call (956) 721-5140.

Laredo Community College’s Performing Arts and Fine Arts Departments presents the third performance of James McLureâ’s two one-act comedies, "Lone Star" and "Laundry and Bourbon," from 8p.m. until 9:30 p.m. General admission is $7 and $5 for those with valid student IDs Both comedies are best suited for mature audiences and are not recommended for children under the age of 13. Proceeds benefit the Floyd Reed Memorial Scholarship Fund, which helps promote the performing arts in the Laredo area.

The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show "The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather" at 5 p.m., "IBMXSearch for the Edge of the Solar System" at 6 p.m. and "Pink Floyd’s The Wall" at 7 p.m. Buy one ticket, get one free! General admission is $5 and $4 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Premium shows are $1 more. For upcoming events, call (956) 326-DOME.

SUNDAY, FEB. 13 The Texas A&M International University Steinway Series continues with a performance by Anton Nel, internationally acclaimed and prize-winning pianist, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.

The recital will feature classical piano music. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the series, please contact Dr. Friedrich Gechter, TAMIU associate professor at (956) 326-2639 or e-mail fgechter@tamiu.edu.

Laredo Community College’s Performing Arts and Fine Arts Departments presents the final performance of James McLureâ’s two one-act comedies, "Lone Star" and "Laundry and Bourbon," from 3 p.m,. until 4:30 p.m. General admission is $7 and $5 for those with valid student IDs. Both comedies are best suited for mature audiences and are not recommended for children under the age of 13. Proceeds benefit the Floyd Reed Memorial Scholarship Fund which helps promote the performing arts in the Laredo area.

MONDAY, FEB. 14 Texas A&M International University’s men’s and women’s golf teams will be competing in the Jack Brown Memorial, all day at the Laredo Country Club. For more information, call (956) 326-2891.

Texas A&M International University’s softball team plays Tarleton State University at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

General admission tickets are $5, $3 for students, and free for anyone with a TAMIU I.D. For more information, call (956) 326-2891 or visit GoDustdevils.com.

TUESDAY, FEB. 15 Stop by the office of career services at room 114 in the TAMIU Student Center today from 11 a.m. until noon or from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. to learn more about “Interviewing Skills/Dress for Success” and to get helpful tips on what to do and what not to do when attending the Expo. For more information, please call (956) 326-HIRE (4473) or e-mail careerservices@tamiu.edu.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16 The Texas A&M International University A.R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade present the IBC Keynote Speaker Series, featuring Dr. Barry Lawrence, director of the supply chain systems laboratory at Texas A&M University in College Station. Dr. Lawrence will be presenting "South Texas’ Competitive Position in the Global Economy: What Leadership Must Do." The lecture will take place at the TAMIU Student Center ballroom (SC 203 A&B) from 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (956) 326-2820 or visit http://freetrade.tamiu.edu/ whtc_services/whtc_speaker_series.asp.

ASSOCIATED PRES

Photo by Alex Brandon | AP

Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, on Friday. Perry also met with top congressional Republicans Friday in an effort to “work together to fight federal intrusion.”

Hopefuls woo activists

By PHILLP ELLIOTT ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Appearing before conservatives who hold huge sway in the GOP presidential nomination fight, would-be Republican candidates called President Barack Obama weak and suggested they alone possess the talents needed to beat him.

One leader, Gov. Rick Perry has taken his anti-Washington crusade to Capitol Hill.

Perry met with congressional Republicans Friday in an effort to "work together to fight federal intrusion," a spokeswoman said.

In Washington for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Perry met with House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and others to discuss "the core issues that are im-

posing federal mandates on Texas taxpayers" such as the Affordable Care Act, environmental regulation and an estimated $830 million in funds for Texas schools that are tied up in partisan wrangling.

In unrelenting attacks on Obama, contenders took on the president’s economic team, his advisers and even the first lady’s vegetable garden.

“Two years ago, this new president faced an economic crisis and an increasingly uncertain world; an uncertain world has been made more dangerous by the lack of clear direction from a weak president,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said concerns about Iran and Islamic extremists are overshadowed by worries about Obama’s handling of those threats.

2 sentenced to more life terms in Texas fires

North Texas eyes Oklahoma water

Official recommends Democrat keep seat

TYLER, Texas — A court has sentenced two men convicted in a series of church fires in Texas last year to additional life sentences after they pleaded guilty to starting two other blazes.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that 21-year-old Jason Bourque and 23-year-old Daniel McAllister made the pleas Friday. Bourque pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and was given two life sentences. McAllister pleaded guilty to one count and received one life sentence.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A North Texas water district that has tried to gain access to southeastern Oklahoma water plans to step up its efforts to reach an agreement with state lawmakers that could produce millions of dollars in new revenue.

Six months after a judge dismissed a lawsuit to force the state to sell some of its water, officials with the Tarrant Regional Water District said they hope legislative leaders and Gov. Mary Fallin will help negotiate a deal they said would benefit the water district and the state.

AUSTIN, Texas — A top Republican official, after reviewing evidence in a disputed election, has ruled that a Democratic House member won her seat by just four votes.

Rep. Will Hartnett, who is acting as a judge in the dispute, said Friday that the new challenge had shaved Rep. Howard’s margin of victory by eight votes.

She had won by just 12 votes in a recount in Travis County.

Cowboys waited months to seek seat permit ARLINGTON, Texas — Records show a Cowboys Stadium official didn’t seek a permit for construction of temporary Super Bowl seating until the game was less than a month away, even though the city hosting the game asked for plans five months earlier.

1 killed in car-bus collision in North Austin AUSTIN, Texas — One man died and a dozen others went to the hospital after the vehicle the man was in collided with a bus on the frontage road of Interstate 35 near Rundberg Lane in North Austin.

Suburban Dallas boy makes plea deal in slayings AUSTIN, Texas — A 13-yearold boy accused of teaming up with his 12-year-old girlfriend to kill her relatives in suburban Dallas has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that will keep him from going to trial on capital murder charges.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Judge: Wal-Mart can fire man for marijuana use

CONTACT US

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan law legalizing medical marijuana doesn’t stop private businesses from firing people for drug use, a federal judge said Friday in dismissing a lawsuit against WalMart Stores Inc. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said the law, approved by voters in 2008, bars authorities from prosecuting people for marijuana use but doesn’t tell private employers what to do.

EPA says new plan would cut smog and save jobs ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Federal officials unveiled a plan Friday to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at a coal-fired power plant in New Mexico where the Arizona Public Service four months ago proposed installing strict pollution-control measures.

Under the Environmental Pro-

Today is Saturday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2011. There are 322 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky. On this date: In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who’d claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason.

In 1795, the University of North Carolina became the first U.S. state university to admit students with the arrival of Hinton James.

In 1818, Chile officially proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule.

In 1908, the first round-theworld automobile race began in New York. (It ended in Paris the following July with the drivers of the American car, a Thomas Flyer, declared the winners over teams from Germany and Italy.)

In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded.

In 1915, the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C., a year to the day after groundbreaking.

In 1940, the radio play “The Adventures of Superman” debuted with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.

In 1959, the redesigned Lincoln penny — with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side — went into circulation.

In 1973, Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.

In 1999, the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Ten years ago: The NEAR spacecraft touched down on Eros, completing the first landing on an asteroid. Scientists in Rockville, Md., reported they had largely deciphered the genetic code of the mouse.

A federal appeals court ruled the Internet service Napster had to prevent users from swapping copyrighted music without charge. A computer virus pretending to be a digital photo of tennis star Anna Kournikova overwhelmed email servers in Europe and North America.

Five years ago: A record 26.9 inches of snow fell in New York’s Central Park over a two-day period.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie director Franco Zeffirelli is 88.

Actor Louis Zorich is 87. Baseball Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Joe Garagiola is 85. Former Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., is 81.

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell is 77. Actor Joe Don Baker is 75. Author Judy Blume is 73. Rock musician Ray Manzarek (The Doors) is 72. Country singer Moe Bandy is 67. Actress Maud Adams is 66. Actor-former talk show host Arsenio Hall is 56. Singer Chynna Phillips is 43. Actress Christina Ricci is 31. Actress Jennifer Stone (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) is 18.

Thought for Today: “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Business Manager, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 324-1226 Chief Accountant, Thelma Aguero .............. 728-2553 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Retail Adv. Manager, Raul Cruz................... 728-2511 Classified Manager, Jesse Vicharreli ........... 728-2525 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Editor, Diana Fuentes ................................728-2581 City Editor, Mary Nell Sanchez .................. 728-2543 Sports Editor, Dennis Silva II......................728-2579 Business Journal Editor, Sean Bowlin.......... 728-2529 Entertainment Editor, Emilio Rábago III ....... 728-2564 Online Editor, Julie Daffern ....................... 728-2565 Photo by David Karp | AP

Hisham Morgan of the Muslim American Society Youth Center celebrates the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in front of the Egyptian Mission to United Nations in Manhattan, on Friday. tection Agency’s latest proposal, smog-causing nitrogen oxides at the Four Corners Power Plant would be reduced from 45,000 tons per year to 5,800 tons per yearreduction of 3,200 fewer tons from the federal agency’s initial plan.

The EPA said the latest plan would reduce emissions by 87 percent, rather than 80 percent as initially proposed.

The agency is seeking public comment through May 2.

— Compiled from AP reports

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

The Zapata Times is free.

The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500.

The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE BLOTTER ASSAULT

Zlocal Guillen leads committee SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

An assault causing family violence was reported at 11:23 p.m. Feb. 5 in the 1800 block of La Paloma Drive. The victim stated that a man she knows pushed her to the ground. An incident report states the woman fell and her head hit the pavement. Deputies say she had a minor laceration.

Luis Alfredo Vidal was arrested the afternoon of Feb. 6 in the 300 block of Gonzalez Street in the Nicholson addition. Deputies say Vidal hit his mother on the left arm. The man was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.

Deputies went out to a domestic disturbance call at 7:29 p.m. Feb. 6 in the 1400 block of Ramireño Avenue in the Medina addition. Simon Alberto Martinez was arrested and charged with assault causing family violence and taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.

BURGLARY Deputies responded to a burglary of habitation call at 2:49 p.m. Feb. 5 at Pepe’s RV Park Lot 30, 104 Madison Ave. The complainant told authorities that someone stole her and her husband’s birth certificates, along with a marriage license.

Deputies responded to a burglary of a vehicle call at 7:02 a.m. Feb. 6 in the 1000 block of Guzman Street. The complainant told deputies that someone stole tools from his welding truck.

Deputies went out to a burglary of habitation call at 10:46 a.m. Feb. 6 in the 400 block of Zapata Avenue. According to reports, the offender stole pants and coins from a container inside the house. The man also took some car keys and opened a vehicle parked in the garage to steal some items.

DUI Leslie Marie Chick was arrested around 11:15 p.m. Feb. 5 at the corner of 20th Street and Fresno Avenue after a traffic stop. Chick was charged with driving under the influence and taken to the Zapata County Jail.

DWI Daniel Juarez was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated around 2:45 a.m.

Monday at the corner of 10th Street and Falcon Avenue. He was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.

Jose Guadalupe Garcia Jr. was arrested and charged with public intoxication around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday the 200 block of Lincoln Avenue in San Ygnacio. The man was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.

EVADING ARREST A deputy patrolling at 9:36 Feb. 4 about 6 miles east of Texas 16 signaled a stop on a gray GMC pickup. An incident report states the driver refused to stop.

The vehicle then went into a ranch located on the north side of Texas 16. There, several people ran toward the brush. Reports did not record an arrest.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION Joel Humberto Salinas was arrested and charged with public intoxication at approximately 5:15 a.m. Feb. 6 at the corner of South U.S. 83 near Lopeño. Deputies say Salinas was asleep inside his vehicle parked off U.S. 83. Deputies took him to the Zapata Regional Jail.

RECKLESS DRIVING Jose Luis Salinas was arrested and charged with reckless driving at about 2 a.m. Feb. 6 in the intersection of Third Avenue and U.S. 83. Reports state that Salinas was driving at 82 miles per hour in a 35-mph zone. The man was taken to the Zapata Regional Jail.

THEFT A man called deputies at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 6 to report that someone stole his bulldog from outside his residence in the 300 block of U.S. 83.

PAGE 3A

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus III has appointed state Rep. Ryan Guillen chairman of the Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee.

Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, will oversee legislation affecting state parks, hunting and fishing in Texas, tourism initiatives, a variety of cultural and recreational activities, and the state library system.

In addition, Guillen was appointed to the Public Education Committee and the Select Committee on Election Contests.

“I am pleased to appoint Rep. Guillen as chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which plays an integral role in the preservation of wildlife and regulation of recreational activities in Texas,” Straus said.

Guillen has experience on numerous House committees, including Appropriations, Land & Resource Management, Regulated Industries, Border & Intergovernmental Affairs, Financial Institutions, Natural Resources, Transportation, and Calendars. This is his first time as a chairman.

“It is a distinct privilege

and honor to be appointed as head of a committee that works to uphold our state’s rich heritage and promote all that makes Texas a great place to visit,” Guillen said. “I look forward to start hearing legislation with my committee before the end of the month."

Guillen has filed more than 40 bills so far in the 82nd legislative session. He said he expects to file several more.

“As always, my ultimate focus during the session will be to deliver substantial results for my district and Texas in general,” Guillen said.

Visitor’s guide is now available SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The first edition of the Zapata Chamber of Commerce’s visitors guide is increasing its circulation, according to a statement by the chamber.

The guide is called “A Venture in Adventure.”

"Since we began concerted efforts to promote the community, ‘A Venture in Adventure’ has proved quite positively,” said chamber president Jose F. “Paco” Mendoza Jr. “Hunting and fishing licenses have increased; our county fair, among other events, had recordbreaking attendance; our new museum is almost completed and the creation of the new Higher Education Center is a big achievement for a community of our size. "Produced by Graphitiks Ad-

vertising Design, , the 36page guide also features sections on day trips to surrounding areas, Zapata restaurants and hotels, travel tips and ideas.

Along with targeting Texas and the northern states, the guide will also reach Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and even Mexico.

About 25,000 copies will make their way to visitors, Winter Texans and business-

es in a broad-based effort to promote Zapata. It will also serve as part of a comprehensive information package sent in response to every inquiry made of Zapata through the chamber’s new website and other channels.

For more information or for copies of the guide, visit www.zapatachamber.com, call (800) 292-LAKE or visit 601 N. U.S. Highway 83.

49th District Court to hold session Feb. 23

By DENISE BLAZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Judge Jose “Joe” Lopez is scheduled to return to Zapata on Feb. 23 to handle both civil and criminal cases.

While last week, a visiting judge from San Antonio, Judge Robert Richardson, filled in for the 49th District Court in Zapata on Feb. 7.

Richardson, a senior judge out of the 379th District Court, will handle the case load of both civil and criminal cases scheduled to be called at 1 p.m. for the docket calendar call.

Court records show the case of Gabriel Alvarez Briones, 35, a man accused of killing an infant on

March 28, has not been called.

Police allege that Alvarez Briones hit his 6month-old second cousin in the head, leading to his death. Alvarez Briones has been indicted for capital murder.

Alvarez Briones remains in custody held under a $1 million cash bond.

He currently is being held in isolation, apart from the general population, at the Zapata Regional Jail.

The case is tentatively set to be resolved by the end of this year, according to the district attorney’s office.

(Denise Blaz may be reached at 728-2547 or dblaz@lmtonline.com)

Zopinion

PAGE 4A

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Huffington sells out to the middle

By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS

W

ASHINGTON — They don’t make media barons the way they used to.

Therefore, it was especially sad to see Arianna Huffington, who was on the way to becoming the first baroness of the new media, sell out to AOL. In America, one had hoped that she was following in the footsteps of William Randolph Hearst (many newspapers), Joseph Pulitzer (The New York World), Henry Luce (Time) and Katharine Graham (The Washington Post). In Britain, those who favored the right party were often made peers: Lord Beaverbrook (Daily Express); Lord Rothermere (Daily Mirror); and Churchill’s Irish buddy, Brendan Bracken (Financial Times).

None of these masters of their universes would have sold. They owned media to make money, to scale society, to dictate to politicians, to wield power over everything that interested them, and to have fun. A.J. Liebling’s declaration that the freedom of the press belonged to those who owned the presses was not only agreeable to these magnates, but they also reveled in it.

Hearst tried to make himself president and his mistress, Marion Davies, a film star. In these he failed. Luce, who was born in China, obsessed over the communist triumph there and sought out communism worldwide. He rewarded and punished with the use of his greatest weapon: the cover story.

Graham liked to drop in on world leaders for what she felt were state visits.

Beaverbrook tried to prop up the British Empire in honor of his native Canada; and Rothermere liked to prop up a vision of England of the kind projected in “Brideshead Revisited.”

Today, there is a press baron who meets the high standards of global pretensions and influence and who thinks newspapers are for the purpose of advancing his agenda. He is, of course, Rupert Murdoch, and he shakes the earth when he walks in Australia, Britain and the United States. He has eclipsed the others by buying into television (Fox) and treating it as a partisan newspaper.

Even so, Huffington had promise. She has the obligatory ego and a fine sense of her own correctness, which has enabled her to switch from right to left — and now, it would seem, to the mid-

dle. She craves high office, having run for governor of California and lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger. She has shown a clear propensity for collecting influential friends, which began when she was the first woman, and the first Greek, to head the Cambridge Union, the debate club at the British university.

Money maker And Huffington knows how to make money. She founded the Huffington Post, which is the first Internet publication to make money, and to do so without a rich consort, like Slate, founded by Microsoft and now owned

by The Washington Post, or The Daily Beast, now owned by billionaire Sidney Harman who, at age 92, wants to enjoy the non-economic benefits of journalism.

Huffington started the Huffington Post as a liberal counter to the conservative Drudge Report.

Soon it was a success in its own right and vastly different from the Drudge Report in scale and mission.

Although shapeless and lacking a clear mission, the Huffington Post pointed the way ahead: a pure Internet play that was breaking into profitability and creating a business model for the future. Now she has sold it for $315 million and an amorphous job.

One had hoped that the Huffington Post, having broken with the pack in acceptance and revenue, was going to become the first Internet news thing that was going to accumulate enough wealth to do the expensive news coverage that is still done only by newspapers: cover wars and revolutions, business and finance, homemaking and education, and the machinations of politicians and their paymasters.

Alas, she has sold out to AOL, which is dabbling in localized coverage, the Patches, and many rifle-shot national titles, like Politics Daily.

The way they are going will lead to scattered effort, uneven quality and a managerial nightmare.

The newsletter industry learned all about the problems of too many titles: none made enough money to stand alone and many were impossible to discipline. (This writer published newsletters for 33 years.)

Poor Arianna. The highest-flying Greek since Icarus, they say, has fallen to earth before she could become the first Colossus of the Internet.

(E-mail: lking@kingpublishing.com.)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters.

To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication.

We want to assure

our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

EDITORIAL

Do not punish whistle blowers NEW YORK TIMES

A

ll those Capitol budget hawks searching out waste, fraud and abuse should first find out why some mystery lawmaker killed a long-needed whistle-blower protection bill in the final hours of the last Congress.

The measure would have greatly bolstered Washington’s ability to recoup wasted multimillions by encouraging government work-

ers to alert superiors to how bad things really are and guaranteeing that they won’t be punished for doing the right thing.

Both houses unanimously approved versions of whistle-blower protection in the lame-duck Congress in December. But just as the final compromise was about to pass, the 12-year campaign was snuffed out by a still unknown senator exercising an anonymous hold.

Revival of the measure should be a top priority, particularly since the new Senate supposedly will no longer tolerate the skullduggery of secret holds. In the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, the zealous new chairman of government oversight, should be the first to drumbeat for the measure.

The measure, which should also be a no-brainer for the Capitol’s new Tea Party ethic, would strengthen the free speech

and due process rights of whistle-blowers. It would allow jury trials for documenting bureaucratic retaliations and enlarge the covered agencies to include airport baggage screeners, nuclear plant workers and other vital jobs.

What could be more patriotic, or budget-minded, than protecting government workers who have the courage and good sense to raise the alarm when taxpayers are being cheated?

COLUMN

Correctness can dangerous

By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

L

eaders in Germany and Britain seem to understand: Political correctness can be mortally dangerous. Do their American counterparts share this realization?

In a speech in October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared multiculturalism, a tenet of political correctness, to be “a total failure.” She wasn’t talking about the study or celebration of different cultures. She meant the German policy of not integrating immigrant populations, not judging them by Western values and instead allowing them to create separate but inherently unequal communities — with the hope, perhaps, that they would eventually go home.

They didn’t go home.

And among the enclaves of unintegrated immigrants permitted to foster an anti-Western culture in the heart of Europe were members of the al-Quds Mosque in Hamburg, including Mohammed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi, three of the 9-11 suicide pilots. Two months before Merkel’s address, German authorities shut

down the mosque after amassing evidence that it was at the center of a new conspiracy to launch a wave of terrorist attacks across Europe.

Last weekend, British Prime Minister David Cameron elaborated on the subject at the 47th Munich Security Conference.

“The biggest threat to our security comes from terrorist attacks, some of which are sadly carried out by our own citizens,” he said. While terrorism is not unique to any one religious or ethnic group, he noted “this threat comes overwhelmingly from young men who follow a completely perverse and warped interpretation of Islam.”

Politically correct British authorities tolerated or ignored behavior that, had it been exhibited by other groups, would properly be viewed as posing a threat to society. That threat was made good during the London bombings of 2005 and subsequent attempted terrorist attacks

by Islamic extremists.

“Instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we — as governments and as societies — have got to confront it, in all its

forms,” Cameron said.

Days before Cameron spoke in Munich, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs released the results of its 14-month investigation into the murderous rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded, for which Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged. The committee found that the Department of Defense and FBI “had sufficient information to have detected Hasan’s radicalization to violent Islamist extremism but failed both to understand and to act on it.”

Despite the assessment of two fellow officers that Hasan was “a ticking time bomb,” despite a superior’s evaluation that he was “very lazy” and “a religious fanatic,” despite his justification of terrorist attacks on religious grounds and despite the intercept of e-mails between Hasan and terrorist imam Anwar al-Awlaki, his personnel records were sanitized and the Army promoted him.

FBI initially flagged Hasan as a security risk. But in a case of circular reasoning and willful blindness, an FBI review relied

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

on Hasan’s scrubbed personnel files to give him a clean bill.

What accounts for such failures? The senators write that “worries about ‘political correctness’ inhibited Hasan’s superiors and colleagues who were deeply troubled by his behavior from taking the actions against him that could have prevented the attack at Fort Hood.”

The Pentagon has aggressively confronted white supremacism and other threatening activity.

It should do the same with Islamist extremism, which the report states “differs from Islamic religious belief and practices.”

The report calls on the Pentagon to update its policies on extremism and religious accommodation “to ensure that violent Islamist extremism is not tolerated.” Otherwise, the report warns, “the behavioral tendency among superiors could be to avoid proper application of the current general policies.”

Translation: Unless American leaders also renounce political correctness, its effects will continue to be deadly.

(E-mail: jgurwitz@express-news.net)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Icy road causes accident THE ZAPATA TIMES

A 19-year-old Zapata woman was medically cleared from a hospital last weekend after icy road conditions caused her vehicle to roll over on U.S. 83, north of Zapata.

Zapata County sheriff ’s officials identified her as Nelly Mercado.

First responders went out to a single vehicle accident reported at 8:44 a.m.

Feb. 4 on U.S. 83, about 8 miles north of Zapata.

Deputies say the woman was the single occupant of a 2003 black Tahoe. According to reports, she was driving southbound toward Zapata when she lost control of her vehicle.

Deputies say she drove off the highway due to the ice on the roadway. First responders took Mercado to Laredo Medical Center, where she was treated for her injuries and later released.

Courtesy photo

Border Patrol agents look at some of the 108 bundles of marijuana totaling 2,317 pounds inside a refrigerated 18-wheeler.

Courtesy photo

A Zapata woman was hospitalized Feb. 4 after her 2003 black Tahoe left the roadway about 8 miles north of the city, due to an icy U.S. 83.

Cold weather damages crops

By ROBERT BURNS SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

COLLEGE STATION — Freezing cold hammered agricultural operations, halting fieldwork, damaging crops and stressing livestock, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.

Starr County saw the loss of 20 acres of tomatoes.

Though there were some positive aspects noted — death of overwintering insects and moisture from melt-off — most reports indicate the winter storm’s affects on agriculture were negative.

“Producers were busy tending to livestock by putting out feed ahead of the storm, placing livestock be-

hind wind breaks, thawing water and busting ice,” said Mike Bragg, AgriLife Extension agent for Dallam County, northwest of Amarillo.

“There was one report of a dairy being completely without water due to frozen pipes and producers had to hand-deliver water to cows.

With record temperatures being broken as far back as early 1900s this was definitely the coldest period to date.”

In Webb County, the freezes caused some sensitive plants to die, said George Gonzales, AgriLife Extension agent for Webb County.

“The total extent of the plant damage is not yet known,” he said. “Cattle remain in good-to-fair body

condition and got through the cold spell just fine.

Range and pasture conditions will decline due to the freezing of new forage regrowth and overall plant stress encountered with the cold temperatures.”

Soil-moisture conditions were mostly adequate throughout South Texas, except for the western part of the area where they remained very short.

Freezing weather blanketed the entire region. Record, below-freezing temperatures lasted for about three to four days in many areas.

Agents reported daytime and nighttime temperatures in the 20s to 30s. Snow, sleet and ice on rangeland and pastures caused a lot of vegetation damage and in-

creased the need for supplemental feeding of livestock.

Little fieldwork was done due to the cold weather, and there was possible crop damage. Producers in the western parts of the region irrigated spinach and cabbage fields to prevent freeze damage.

In the southern part of the region, vegetables, watermelons, sugarcane and citrus were also affected by the freeze, but it was too soon to access the damage there. Starr County officials reported that a 20-acre tomato crop was completely wiped out, but there was no visible damage to a neighboring field of onions.

(Robert Burns reports for Texas A&M AgriLife Communications)

Colonial music featured at performance SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Texas A&M International University hosts “The History and Music of Benjamin Franklin’s Colonial America,” Sunday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

The innovative program will feature Norma Rockwell’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac” Suite, historian and author John Micklos, Jr., glass armonica instrument master William Zeitler, the Monte Vista String Quartet and pianist Chris-

topher Guzman.

The presentation is made possible by TAMIU, the Lucy Meriwether Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Red Hill Society of Children of the American Revolution and Toni L. Ruiz.

The musical program will include Adagio by W.A. Mozart, Melodrama from Leonore Prohaska by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Adagio and Rondo (with Quartet)

by W.A. Mozart, Grave by Karl Leopold Roellig, Adagio by Joseph Aloys

Schmittbaur, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by P.I. Tchaikovsky, Climbing the Holy Mount (with Quartet), Vigil for a New Moon, and The Contemplation of the Grail by William Zeitler.

Benjamin Franklin is one of the nation’s most revered founding fathers.

Made famous for his experiments with electricity, Franklin had a vast knowledge of music and surrounded himself with it throughout his life.

In 1761, he invented the Glass Armonica, premiered

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in early 1762 when played

by London Virtuoso Marianne Davis. Franklin was the first to envision the tuning of glasses into an individual musical instrument.

Franklin claimed the armonica was the invention he took most delight in creating, so it is fitting to pay tribute to this instrument on the 250th Anniversary of its invention.

Fed agents seize ton of pot THE ZAPATA TIMES

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville Station seized a ton of marijuana last week.

Agents assigned to the Hebbronville Station checkpoint at FM 1017 were checking a refrigerated 18-wheeler when a BP canine alerted to the vehicle.

The trailer was sent to secondary inspection, where agents found several tall, white Styrofoam columns. Inside, agents discovered 108 bundles of marijuana to-

taling 2,317 pounds of the weed, officials said.

The estimated street value of the contraband is $1.8 million, according to the Border Patrol.

The contraband, tractor-trailer and driver were turned over to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The name of the driver was not released.

SÁBADO 12 DE FEBRERO DE 2011

Agenda en Breve

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 7A

WBCA Y LULAC LLEVAN INVITACIÓN A CIUDAD VICTORIA

OPERATIVO

Ejército libera a 47 personas en Reynosa

SÁBADO 12 DE FEBRERO LAREDO — Cena Anual de Reconocimiento organizada por Servicios Católicos Sociales en Laredo Country Club. Se entregarán reconocimientos a Pura Averill, a Monseñor Stanley A. Sliwiak y a Olga Verduzco.

LAREDO — WBCA invita a la Carrera de 5K de los Padres Fundadores y Feria de la Salud en Laredo Medical Center. Puede inscribirse a las 7:30 a.m. en LMC por 10 dólares.

LAREDO — Hoy es la Jornada Sabatina del Consulado General de México en Laredo, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. El objetivo es brindar atención en los renglones de trámites de pasaportes, matrículas consulares, actos de registro civil y que necesitan asistencia consular en el ámbito de protección.

LAREDO — WBCA invita al Festival de Diversión Familiar y Musical en el Campus Fort McIntosh del Laredo Community College de 12 p.m. a 5 p.m. Entrada gratuita.

LAREDO — El equipo de béisbol de TAMIU recibe a Oklahoma Panhandle State University en el diamante universitario a las 12 p.m. Entrada 5 dólares.

LAREDO — Hoy es el Laredo Metal Fest, un encuentro de bandas locales, de 2 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. en el Rio Grande Plaza Hotel. La entrada es gratuita.

LAREDO — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y explore “The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” a las 5 p.m., “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” a las 6 p.m., y Pink Floyd’s ”The Wall” a las 7 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares.

LAREDO — Los Laredo Bucks serán anfitriones de la noche “Pucks for Autism” hoy a las 7:30 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena. Bucks recibirán a Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

LAREDO — WBCA invita al Desfile y Baile de la Princesa Pocahontas, con espectáculo a las 7:30 p.m. y la gala a las 9 p.m. en el Auditorio y Salón del Laredo Civic Center. Entrada al espectáculo es de 30 dólares; entrada a la gala, con cena, es de 25 dólares.

LAREDO — Hoy se presentan las producciones “Laundry & Bourbon” y “Lone Star” en el Martines Fine Arts Center de LCC, a las 8 p.m.

NUEVO LAREDO — Grupo de Teatro Expresión presenta “Lilith Vs Eva” en dos presentaciones, a las 7 p.m. y 9 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de la Casa de la Cultura. Entrada libre. Al terminar la obra “Asmodeo VS Adán” con actores de Teatro Express. Obra para adolescentes y adultos NUEVO LAREDO — Hoy a las 9 p.m. regresa Catalino Leos y los Rancheritos del Topo Chico al Centro Social Buenavista, Mina y Evá Sámano. Costo del boleto a 100 pesos.

DOMINGO 13 DE FEBRERO LAREDO — WBCA presenta “Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular” en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Laredo (entrada por Maher) a las 11 a.m. Entrada para adultos 5 dólares. Niños de 12 años y menores entran gratis.

LAREDO — Hoy se presentan las producciones “Laundry & Bourbon” y “Lone Star” en el Martines Fine Arts Center de LCC. La presentación de hoy es a las 3 p.m.

LAREDO — Dentro de la serie Steinway de TAMIU se presenta al pianista Anton Nel a las 4 p.m. en la universidad. El evento es gratuito y abierto al público en general.

Se desconoce si eran migrantes indocumentados ASSOCIATED PRESS

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Gobernador de Tamaulipas Egidio Torre Cantú, al centro, recibió al Alcalde de Laredo Raúl Salinas, quien acudió con la comitiva de LULAC para invitarlo a la Ceremonia del Abrazo el 19 de febrero. A la izquierda, el Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo Benjamín Galván Gómez.

Invitan a Torre a visitar Laredo TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CD. VICTORIA, México — La Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC) espera que este año el Gobernador de Tamaulipas acepte participar en la Ceremonia del Abrazo dentro de las fiestas de la Washington’s Birthday Celebration Association el sábado 19 de febrero.

Representantes del Concilio LULAC visitaron al Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, acompañados del Alcalde de Laredo Raul Salinas y del de Nuevo Laredo Benjamín Galván Gómez.

La tradicional ceremonia se lleva a cabo cada año en las inmediaciones del Puente Internacional Juárez-Lincoln,

y se trata de uno de los eventos más importantes de la WBCA. En la comitiva también participaron el Congresista Richard Raymond; el empresario Eduardo Garza; el representante de los LULAC, Ángel Rivera; y el Cónsul de México en Laredo Miguel Ángel Isidro Rodríguez.

Durante la ceremonia, representantes de diversas áreas de los dos Laredos, se dan un abrazo a mediados del puente como ejemplo de amistad y cooperación.

Como oradores oficiales estarán Isidro y su homólogo el Cónsul de EU en Nuevo Laredo, Donal L. Heflin.

Un símbolo especial son los Niños del Abrazo, que este

año estarán representando a los EU, Katarina Garcia y Evan A. Valls.; y, por México, Paloma Chapa Mendoza y Ernesto Carlos Knosel Reina.

Si Torre acepta la invitación, al igual que el Gobernador de Texas, Rick Perry, será un acontecimiento que no ha ocurrido desde hace varios años.

“La ceremonia del abrazo es siempre un punto de enfoque de las festividades anuales, así como un significado y símbolo de la relación cercana que existe entre “Los Dos Laredos” y entre los Estados Unidos y México”, sostuvo Norbert Dickman, Gerente General de Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd., operador de La Posada Hotel.

MÉXICO — Militares mexicanos liberaron el martes a 47 personas, incluidos 44 guatemaltecos, que permanecían secuestrados en Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) informó el 8 de febrero en un comunicado que los 44 guatemaltecos y 3 mexicanos fueron localizados dentro de un domicilio del Fraccionamiento Arboledas.

La localización de los secuestrados, de los que no se precisó si eran migrantes indocumentados, ocurrió como parte de operativos del ejército en contra del narcotráfico.

Tamaulipas es uno de los estados más afectados por la violencia del narcotráfico y donde en agosto de 2010 fueron asesinados 72 migrantes centro y sudamericanos, en un hecho atribuido al cartel de las drogas de Los Zetas.

La Sedena señaló que del total de guatemaltecos liberados, 35 son hombres y 9 mujeres. De los mexicanos, dos son hombres y una mujer.

La dependencia señaló que no se detuvo a ningún responsable del secuestro.

El comunicado agrega que en el rescate ocurrido el 7 de febrero además se aseguraron dos vehículos con cuatro maletas que contenían 108 paquetes de cocaína con un peso de 102 kilos 7065 kilogramos.

Por otra parte, a inicios de mes, autoridades mexicanas identificaron a Cristian Andrés Caguana, de 18 años, como el cuarto ecuatoriano muerto en la masacre ocurrida a finales de agosto de 2010 en Tamaulipas.

El subsecretario general de la Secretaría Nacional del Migrante, Juan Peralta, señaló que los restos de los otros tres ecuatorianos identificados y repatriados con la ayuda del gobierno mexicano corresponden a Elvia Pasochoa, María Tipantasi y Telmo Yupa.

La masacre se conoció por denuncia del también ecuatoriano Luis Freddy Lala.

ARRANCA TALLER EN MIER Jóvenes conocen un arte distinto TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CIUDAD MIER — El viernes el grupo de teatro de calle y percusiones Ambulante de Nuevo Laredo inició la convocatoria para capacitar a jóvenes en percuteatro.

En el Casino Argüelles y ante la presencia de alumnos de la secundaria “Presidente Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez” y del COBAT 11, los integranets de Ambulante explicaron que el percuteatro es una fusión de teatro y percusiones.

Tras conformarse un grupo, arrancó un taller en la Casa de la Cultura, cuya duración será de 24 horas, programándose concluirlo para el sábado 26 de febrero.

Durante este taller los jóvenes aprenderán nociones

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Integrantes del grupo de teatro Ambulante visitaron Ciudad Mier donde ofrecen un taller. de expresión corporal, clown, vocalización, rutinas y percusión con instrumen-

tos, objetos y el cuerpo, entre otros.

La presencia de Ambu-

lante en el Pueblo Mágico, fue una coordinación con el Instituto Tamaulipeco para

la Cultura y las Artes (ITCA) y el Ayuntamiento de Mier.

OPERATIVO

Sedena informa resultados de operativos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

En diversos operativos, la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional reporta resultados de acciones.

Nuevo Laredo En operativo el lunes 7 de febrero, elementos del Ejército Mexicano lograron el aseguramiento de un vehículo y 200 envolto-

rios conteniendo una hierba verde y seca con las características de la marihuana con un peso aproximado de 600 grs.

También en otro punto se logró la detención de seis infractores y el aseguramiento de dos tractocamiones con caja remolque.

Ciudad Mier El sábado 5 de febrero

elementos del Ejército Mexicano fueron objeto de una agresión con disparos de armas de fuego.

Tras el enfrentamiento, aseguraron dos vehículos, cinco armas largas, 16 cargadores, 255 cartuchos de diferentes calibres, 13 pantalones pixelados, 25 camisolas pixeladas y tres camisolas camufladas tipo selva de fabricación norteamericana. No hubo pérdida de vidas humanas.

Miguel Alemán

Ciudad Díaz Ordaz

El domingo 6 de febrero personal militar observó que la tierra estaba removida en un tramo de la ribera del Río Bravo. Al inspeccionar se localizaron enterrados dos tambos metálicos, conteniendo dos armas largas, tres granadas de mano, seis cargadores y 5,680 cartuchos de diferentes calibres.

El 6 de febrero se localizaron enterrados en una fosa en el poblado Santo Niño, 513 paquetes conteniendo marihuana con un peso de 3,214.9 kgs.

El 7 de febrero logró el aseguramiento de dos armas largas, 50 cartuchos, tres cargadores y 120 paquetes conteniendo marihuana con un peso aproximado de 190 kgs.

PAGE 8A

Zentertainment WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Easton Corbin in Laredo Thursday

By ADAM GEIGERMAN THE ZAPATA TIMES

Courtesy photo | WBCA

Sunday’s WBCA Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular will feature a variety of stunts.

An explosive good time at air show on Sunday SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Bigger, better and louder can describe the Sunday’s 2011 WBCA Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular sponsored by CPL Retail Energy, a Direct Energy company.

Tickets are only $5, and kids 12 and under are free to the air show, scheduled to take place at the Laredo International Airport via the Maher Entrance, starting at 11 a.m.

With airplanes of all shapes and sizes, the WBCA Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular has fast become one of the WBCA’s most anticipated events. Spectators of all ages are entertained by amazing aerial acts and spectacular ground activities and performances.

“WBCA is looking forward to this year’s Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular. We will feature the Air Force’s A-10 Warthog Demo Team with this year, as well at the Mig-17 and several other new additions. There will also be many vintage aircraft for

the public to view and photograph,” said Joe Castellano, chairperson for air show.

‘Glacier Girl’ in Laredo Duane and Rod Lewis are the Air Show marshals.

“They will be bringing some of the finest privately owned classic aircrafts in the world to our Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular,” Castellano said. “We are honored to have them with us.”

One of those privately owned airplanes is none other than the famous P-38 Fighter “Glacier Girl” — the world’s most famous fighter airplane — which became very popular after enthusiasts dug it out from more than 250 feet of ice where it had been buried for decades since World War II. It took 50 years, countless hours, and more than 10 years of rebuilding and incredible attention to detail to restore it to its original flying capacity. “Glacier Girl” will make its Laredo

debut Sunday.

The Air Show will also feature an acrobatic demonstration by Randy Ball and his Russian “Check Six” MiG-17F, a formidable adversary during the Vietnam Era and likely best remembered as the Russian fighter jets in “Top Gun.” The “Check Six” gun fighter, which once served as the top-secret interceptor for the Soviet Union, performed impressive vertical afterburner climbs in one of the only demonstrations of its kind in North America.

Gene Soucy and his copilot Teresa Stokes plan to awe audiences again this year with death defying acts of their own. Ground activities will include Neal Darnell’s Flash Fire Jet Truck in the incredible jet truck versus plane race that will see speeds of up to or more than 350 miles per hour.

Bounce houses, games, flight simulators, great food, static displays and other treats are going to be on hand for this year’s air show that will truly offer something for everyone.

Fun Fest to offer exhilarating time at LCC SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Laredo Community College’s Fort McIntosh Campus will be the site for musical delights, spicy antojitos and plenty of merriment during the annual Fun Fest and Musicale on Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m.

Part of the Washington’s Birthday Celebration, the Fun Fest is a wholesome and entertaining weekend outing, and free of charge.

The event will be held on the campus grounds, next to the Maravillo Gymnasium.

Event organizer/student activities director Raquel Peña said that the outdoor

fiesta will offer plenty of fun and food for all to enjoy.

“Laredo Community College’s Fun Fest and Musicale has become a cherished celebration that many in the community look forward to attending each year,” Peña said. “It’s a great way to spend time with family and enjoy an array of spicy foods, activities and attractions for all ages.”

One of the celebration’s most popular attractions is the Musicale, which annually features an eclectic mix of the vibrant growth in the college’s performing arts programs and local talent from schools, private dance

studios and other sources of entertainment.

College musicians and dancers feature modern dance, mariachi music and traditional Mexican dances.

Demonstrations of aerobics also are presented.

From the community, you can expect to be entertained by just about anything from a rock band to an Elvis Presley impersonator.

LCC student organizations operate food concessions, selling such items as hot dogs, burgers, corn dogs and nachos, pizza and corn in a cup, as well as fun games and activities, including face painting and a duck pond game.

Billboard’s Top New Country Artist of 2010 has marked Laredo on his map, and will perform next Thursday night at Papagallos USA. The friendly twang and country-fried familiarity of Easton Corbin’s set list has had him touring with country music supernovas such as Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and Blake Shelton, as well as climbing to the apex of country music.

“This whole thing has been such an amazing ride so far. We’ve had a great time out there. It was just a whirlwind year, to be able to tour with (Paisley and Shelton) and watch them work,” Corbin said Thursday in an interview with The Zapata Times. “The fans and crowds have been great, along with the radios playing our songs. Then the nominations and awards, I tell you what, it’s been so great.”

Corbin’s “whirlwind” year has swept up an array of acclaim and awards.

Corbin’s feels-like-home lyrics have landed him on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, atop the Billboard and iTunes country and all-genre charts, and several nominations and wins at the CMA, ACA and ACM award shows.

Comparisons to George Strait Corbin’s highest acclaim comes by way of comparison, though. “People” heralds Corbin as a replica of country music deity George Strait. The metaphor connects the sense of

File photo by Wade Payne | AP

Easton Corbin performs during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tenn., last June. integrity and ability to relate that both Strait and Corbin’s songs provoke, along with the transcendent ability to convey a message that rings true to every demographic of listener.

“It’s an honor to be compared to (Strait), but I always say, ‘There will never be another George Strait,’” Corbin said. “He’s one of a kind and a legend. Only he can do what he does and he’s the best at it.”

Corbin exudes his smalltown upbringing and bestfriend feel in a subconscious fashion at his shows, whether in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans in an arena or hundreds of slow-dancing romantics at an intimate club, by performing his entire self-titled album — along with some surprising and fun cover songs thrown in.

“The arena shows and smaller club dates are such different environments.

They’re both great, but its two different venues, but the club shows allow us to

get intimate and closer, while there’s so much energy in the arenas. I prefer both as long as I’m performing,” he said with a country chuckle. “I didn’t know my music would have an effect on people like it has. I hoped it would, but just wrote what spoke to me and was important to me. Maybe if I could relate to it, my fans could too.

“There’s no better feeling than having all the crowd singing your words back up to you.”

On Thursday, Round Up Nights presents Easton Corbin at Papagallos USA, 5920 San Bernardo Ave. The concert starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are $25 presale. They’re available at Danny’s Restaurants, La Roca, Kelly’s Western Wear and Family Chevrolet.

Table reservations are $50 and bottle service is $180, with table included.

For more information, call 771-8483.

(Adam Geigerman may be reached at 728-2578 or ageigerman@lmtonline.com)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Second blizzard howls through Okla., Ark.

By TIM TALLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News | AP

In this Feb. 9 photo, artist Bart Forbes poses at his studio in Plano, with a copy of his Ronald Reagan painting that is a commemorative stamp for the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth. Forbes used a number of photos supplied by former first lady Nancy Reagan to arrive at this design, which shows a smiling President Reagan set against the landscape of his beloved Rancho del Cielo in California.

Reagan remembered Texan designs centennial stamp

By MATTHEW HUISMAN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

PLANO, Texas — When Bart Forbes got a call from the U.S. Postal Service asking him to design the commemorative stamp honoring President Ronald Reagan’s centennial birthday, the Plano artist couldn’t say no.

The request was simple but the task complex: show the casual side of the 40th president in just a square inch. But with about 20 such stamp designs under his belt, Forbes, 70, was prepared.

Using a number of photos supplied by former first lady Nancy Reagan, he started to sketch his ideas. One of the sketches featured a portrait of a smiling Reagan set against the landscape of his beloved Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara, Calif.

The idea was based on a photo taken in 1985, during Reagan’s second term.

The resulting stamp recently went on sale for 44 cents. It is a “forever”

stamp, meaning it will always cover the cost of mailing a 1-ounce letter.

“He loved his California ranch so much that it seemed like an appropriate symbol,” Forbes said.

“They wanted a nice contrast” from a stamp released shortly after Reagan’s death, which showed him in a jacket and tie.

In both stamps, Reagan is sporting a toothy smile.

“He’s a very upbeat guy,” Forbes said. “When he had his guard down, he always seemed to be smiling.”

It took about nine months for Forbes to finish the stamp, doing the work at his studio. Nancy Reagan was influential in the design, offering critiques every step of the way.

The stamp was unveiled in December during a ceremony at Reagan’s presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif. Forbes said the former first lady was complimentary of his work.

“She’s very happy with the stamp,” said Melissa Giller, spokeswoman for the Ronald Reagan Foundation. “She as well as all of us here at the foundation are pleased and think

it captures his spirit.”

Forbes’ first stamp was a 22-cent stamp featuring Abigail Adams, the wife of the second president, John Adams, released in 1985.

At the time, Forbes had done illustrations for magazines, including Time and Sports Illustrated.

Forbes was approached by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, the board appointed by the postmaster general to select the art for postage stamps. Among his other works are stamps featuring athletes Lou Gehrig and Jesse Owens.

“The design and illustration of stamps is a highly skilled, very specialized talent,” said Roy Betts, spokesman for the Postal Service. “The whole objective is to produce stamps that are current and contemporary.”

The Postal Service has a pool of about 50 illustrators and artists hired on a freelance basis to design commemorative stamps, Betts said. Every year, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee receives thousands of suggestions from the public for commemorative stamps.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Another powerful blizzard howled through the nation’s midsection Wednesday, piling up to 2 feet of new snow on parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas still struggling to clean up from last week’s epic storm.

The blowing snow brought traffic to a halt, and the National Guard was summoned to rescue stranded motorists. Subzero wind chills forced ranchers to work desperately to protect their herds.

As the storm barreled out of the Plains, it took aim at the Deep South, which was expected to get up to five inches of snow.

At least three traffic deaths were blamed on the system.

About 200 truck drivers sought shelter at a truck stop at the intersection of Interstate 44 and U.S. Highway 69, about 60 miles northeast of Tulsa.

"We have a 20-acre parking lot," said owner Katrina Franks. "But it’s just utter chaos trying to get them started and keep them moving."

Truck driver Mike Mallory was hauling chemicals from Houston to Iowa when he pulled into the Big Cabin Travel Plaza as the weather worsened.

"It was a rude awakening when I got up this morning," Mallory said. "I can’t even see the tollway from the parking lot."

The heaviest snow was concentrated in the northeast corner of the state, where the towns of Colcord and Spavinaw got 22 and 23 inches, respectively. The deepest snow was reported near the village of Jay, with 25 inches.

The fresh snow was especially troublesome in Tulsa, where many roads still were impassable from last week’s record 14-inch snowfall. The previous

Photo by Cory Young/The Tulsa World | AP

Elizabeth Watkins, left, assists her daughter Lilly, 3, through the snow Friday, in Disney, Okla. storm kept students out of school for at least six days.

Mail, bus and trash service were only recently restored.

Five more inches of snow fell Wednesday in Tulsa, according to the National Weather Service.

That raised the city’s total for the winter to 25.9 inches, breaking the previous seasonal record of 25.6 inches, set during the winter of 1923-24.

More than 275 National Guard soldiers were deployed in Humvees from armories across the state to search for stranded motorists.

"A Humvee can get through a lot, but we have some snow drifts that are 5 to 6 feet high," said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten.

As the storm intensified late Tuesday, about 50 Greyhound passengers were dropped off at a shelter set up by a Tulsa church. Company spokesman Timothy Stokes said they were given the option of staying at the bus terminal or the shelter, and that they would be picked up to continue the trip when it’s safe to travel.

One passenger, Dean Guay, 23, was travelling from New York to California for a job.

“Everything was going fine until Oklahoma, then it went crazy,” Guay said Wednesday. He hoped to make it to California by Saturday.

In Springfield, Mo., a 31year-old woman was killed when she lost control of her vehicle after passing a car and veered off a snowcovered road into a ditch.

Two young children survived the crash with minor injuries.

In Arkansas, two people died in separate crashes, police said. One person was killed after a tractortrailer rig collided with a smaller vehicle near Galloway, just east of Little Rock. The other motorist died in a crash in eastern Arkansas’ Monroe County.

Oklahoma ranchers struggled to keep their herds well fed and hydrated as wind chills fell well below zero.

In Beaver County, where overnight wind chills dropped to minus 19, Danny Engelman spent Wednesday tending to more than 300 head of cattle.

National

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Teens hold HIV-test day 75 seniors get tests in the gym

By MARCUS WOHLSEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Amy Sancetta | AP

In the small chapel of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Seven Hills, Ohio, Adly Danial reacts after watching television reports from Cairo announcing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on Friday. Upon hearing the news, Danial said, "I was jubilant. I’m just so glad it was peaceful, and we are praying that in the days ahead God will do the best thing for our country."

Egyptians in US look toward the future

By VERENA DOBNIK ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Waves of celebration rippled out of Egypt and washed onto America’s shores Friday, with Egyptian-Americans already looking to the future after the departure of President Hosni Mubarak and his three decades of authoritarian rule.

Three weeks after protests began in Cairo, members of the nation’s largest community of EgyptianAmericans gathered at mosques, near the Egyptian mission to the United Nations in Manhattan and in their cultural “capital” in Queens to mark the protesters’ success.

“I feel freer than I’ve ever felt in my life, although I’m 10,000 miles away from my homeland,” said Ashraf Abdelhalim, 47, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side near one of New York’s largest mosques.

Even living in America, he said, he still felt “the oppression and the fear” from Mubarak’s reign.

“Now the dictator is

gone,” he said.

Sherine El-Abd found herself sobbing with joy at her home in Clifton, N.J. A board member of the Washington-based nonprofit Arab American Institute, she predicted the military in Egypt will “oversee a clean, democratic election.”

“Listen, if the person with the thickest skin and the densest brain in the world — Mubarak — got the message the military gave him, the message is clear,” El-Abd said.

Ayman El-Sawa, an activist from Highlands, N.J., who has helped organize protests including one in Times Square, fielded more than 50 celebratory phone calls in just the first half hour after Mubarak shocked his homeland by finally crumbling and resigning.

“But we should celebrate with one eye — and keep the other eye open for the next step: We have to be sure the army agrees with all the people’s demands and does not repeat history,” he said.

Among the calls El-Sawa

took at home was one cancelling a no-longer-needed protest on Saturday at the White House.

Instead, people met up near the mission or waved flags Friday after noon prayers on Steinway Street in Queens’ Astoria neighborhood. Gatherings were also planned Friday in Dearborn, Mich., in the heart of the nation’s largest Arab-American community; in Los Angeles; and near the Egyptian embassy in Washington.

Close to 60,000 EgyptianAmericans live in the New York area, according to government figures. Community members say there are really twice as many.

Nearly 200,000 U.S. residents identify themselves as Egyptian, according to a 2009 survey by the Census Bureau.

Omar Zaki, a 44-year-old insurance agency owner who lives in Riverside, Calif., said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he read the caption under the television images of jubilant protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Inmate: I killed prison guard ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONROE, Wash. — A Washington state reformatory inmate has acknowledged killing correctional officer Jayme Biendl in the prison chapel, saying he was angry with the way she spoke to him minutes earlier, according to a search warrant made public Friday.

The search warrant said inmate Byron Scherf, 52, acknowledged the crime to detectives Wednesday in a videotaped interview, The Herald newspaper of Everett reported.

“I’ll just get right to the point. I’m responsible for the death of the correctional officer at the Monroe, uh, correctional facility,”

he said, according to excerpts in the court papers.

“I strangled her to death on Jan. 29 at approximately 8:40 p.m. in the chapel.”

The interview came after Scherf asked detectives for a chance to tell them what happened, according to the warrant, which said he acknowledged his right to remain silent.

Scherf ’s public defender, Bill Jaquette, did not immediately return a call Friday seeking comment.

Scherf reportedly told detectives he was angry at Biendl over how she had spoken with him while he worked in the prison chapel that evening.

As he thought about it, “I got to the point where I knew I was going to kill

her,” he reportedly said.

According to the search warrant, Biendl sent the inmates back to their cells at about 8:30 and began closing the chapel.

Scherf said he decided to hang back and attacked Biendl from behind, it said.

He detailed a struggle that lasted about four minutes, with Biendl trying, and apparently failing, to radio for help, in part because he disabled her communications equipment, according to the document.

Scherf said Biendl bit and scratched him and stomped on his foot trying to get free. They wound up on the ground and he used a cable from an amplifier to fatally choke her, he reportedly told detectives.

SAN FRANCISCO — By the time today’s teenagers were old enough to read, new drugs were available that meant HIV was no longer a death sentence.

But with infections among youth and young adults in the U.S. still rising, one senior at The Urban School of San Francisco decided his peers needed more than just another classroom lesson.

Nearly all 75 members of the senior class got tested for HIV in the school gym Friday.

“A lot of kids have never thought about it,” said Oliver Hamilton, 17, who organized the testing. “The goal is to make HIV relevant.”

The testing was voluntary, and organizers of the unusual event will not make any results public.

Tens of thousands of new HIV infections are diagnosed in the U.S. annually. Nearly a third of those involve youth and adults under 30, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Hamilton and the classmates he enlisted say it’s important for teens to recognize that HIV/AIDS is their generation’s disease, too — not just something that happened in the 1980s or afflicts only intravenous drug users and men who have sex with men.

Yet they also say that at a high school, any event that touches on such an intimate and often stigmatized health issue is a delicate endeavor.

In a class of just 75 students, news and gossip travel quickly.

“It’s like CNN,” said Daniel Alexander, 18. Of the

AP

In this Feb. 10 photo, Oliver Hamilton, 17, foreground, poses for a photograph with classmates Robert Kline, 18, left, Daniel Alexander, 18, rear, and Rayhannah Dar, 18, at The Urban School of San Francisco in San Francisco. They underwentclasswide HIV testing in the school gym Friday.

HIV screening, he said, “It’s definitely a test of our maturity.”

Students attended forums in recent days to learn about HIV and the importance of respecting one another’s privacy.

The students believe they’re the first in U.S. to organize voluntary HIV testing for high school students, even though the CDC recommends that everyone ages 13 to 64 know their HIV status. Under California law, 12 and older can obtain testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parents’ permission.

Students at Urban signed their own consent forms to be tested. Administrators and students at the $32,000-per-year private school just a block off Haight Street say there was little friction with parents over the plan.

“It just made sense to me, especially considering the latest statistics with teens and this disease,” said Diane Welch, co-president of the parents association at Urban, where her daughter is a senior. “It just makes sense that this generation start monitoring their HIV status as a regular part of their health care routine.”

It’s also the message of Dr. Marcus Conant, who has mentored Hamilton as an assistant in his office and who will conduct the school’s tests.

As a dermatologist working in San Francisco in the early 1980s, Conant began seeing a sudden surge in cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma among young gay men. An otherwise extremely rare disease, Koposi’s sarcoma afflicts patients with compromised immune systems.

State

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

3rd ex-inmate testifies in abuse case

By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUBBOCK — A former inmate at a juvenile prison school in West Texas cried several times Friday during three hours of testimony in which he said the school’s former principal sexually abused him and tried to convince him their encounters were consensual.

The 26-year-old man said he shared the “most private things” in his life with John Paul Hernandez, including that his father abused him when he was a child, and that he grew to trust the principal. Hernandez helped him prepare for a college entrance exam, and he was grateful for that, he said.

But Hernandez also talked about fetishes, gay pornography and performing oral sex on a college roommate as the two were getting to know one another, the former inmate testified. Hernandez later fondled him and performed oral sex on him in storage closets and classrooms at the prison, the man said.

“He always made it like it was something I wanted,” the young man said.

“I didn’t want it.”

Prosecutors say Hernandez, 45, and another former administrator at the West Texas State School in Pyote gave inmates special treatment, candy and promises of financial aid before sexually abusing them. A 2005 report from Texas Rangers investigators said the two summoned young male inmates from their dorms late at night and

took them to ball fields, darkened conference rooms and offices for sexual encounters.

The case prompted the resignations or firings of several top state officials responsible for overseeing the juvenile prison system. Former assistant Superintendent Ray Edward Brookins, the only other official at the juvenile prison school charged in the case, was sentenced last April to 10 years.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including one sexual assault charge. His attorney has said the inmates made up the allegations so they would be released from the facility, which closed last summer.

The former inmate who testified Friday said he didn’t tell anyone about his encounters with Hernandez because he was embarrassed and didn’t want others to tease him.

He changed his mind after prison administrators — at the request of Texas Rangers — came to his dorm in February 2005 and told the prisoners they should report any abuse they experienced.

The young man broke into tears as he described calling his sister after the administrators left. He decided while talking to her he was going to tell what had happened to him.

“That night in my cell I wrote down everything I could remember about what happened,” he testified.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify victims of sexual abuse.

The young man was the third former inmate to testify against Hernandez.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

LIFE SENTENCES FOR CHURCH FIRES

Test scores may be tied to teachers’ ratings ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News | AP

Jason Bourque, front, and Daniel McAllister leave the Van Zandt County Courthouse on Friday in Tyler after each entered guilty pleas for starting the East Texas church fires. A court has sentenced two men to additional life sentences after they pleaded guilty to starting two other blazes. Bourque pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and was given two life sentences. McAllister pleaded guilty to one count and received one life sentence.

Prison chief: Execution drug will be found

By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Texas’ prison director said Friday he was optimistic the state would find the drug sodium thiopental or an alternative to carry out executions after the supply expires in March.

“We’re working hard with individuals within our agency, our state government, to resolve this issue, and I’m confident we’ll be able to,” Rick Thaler, director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division, told The Associated Press outside a Texas prison board meeting. “I think we continue to look at the landscape of opportunity we have out there, as other states are.”

Thaler said the issue

has been a top priority within the agency for several months.

Sodium thiopental is one of three drugs used in the lethal mixture given to condemned killers in Texas and a number of other states, but the sole manufacturer in the U.S. has suspended production.

Two executions are scheduled this month, including one next week.

Another is set for early April, days after the current Texas supply expires.

“I don’t think we’re taking any options off the table,” he said. “Hopefully, by the time we get there, we’ll have a resolution of the situation.”

Death row inmate Cleve Foster recently was given an April 5 execution date for the abduction-rape slaying of a woman nine

years ago in Tarrant County. Foster was set to die last month, but the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the punishment at the last minute to consider an appeal. That appeal subsequently was rejected.

“I don’t think anyone was surprised when we had one scheduled,” said Thaler, who often is the prison administrator in Huntsville, the nation’s busiest death chamber, and gives the warden the word to move forward with the punishment. “As it has been historically in Texas, we normally have one scheduled at least every month.”

At the board meeting, Brad Livingston, executive director, said talks were continuing with state lawmakers regarding the proposed 2012-13 budget.

HOUSTON — Teacher evaluations would be tied to student test scores, and teachers with poor evaluations could be fired under a proposal being considered by the Houston school district.

A draft of the plan released for public comment this month says about half of a teacher’s rating would be based on how well students performed on tests and other measures of academic progress.

Teacher evaluations now are based on their principal’s observations of their work.

If the school board approves the changes, the Houston school district would be among a small but growing number of districts across the nation emphasizing student test scores when rating teacher performance.

“This is an enormous change,” Chuck Robinson said. As the executive director of the Congress of Houston Teachers, he represents teachers in the district. “It’s much too heavy on the student achievement end. Fifty percent — that is just huge.”

The other half of teachers’ ratings would be based on how well they engage students, their planning skills, how well they work with parents and participation in professional development.

Also, administrators would have to visit teachers’ classrooms at least six times a year instead of once and give them regular written feedback.

The district’s two largest teacher groups said they’re concerned that the model used for analyzing test scores also determines performance bonuses.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 13A

MARIA G. MOORE Maria G. Moore, 71, passed away Monday, Feb. 7, 2011, at Doctors Hospital in Laredo.

Ms. Moore is preceded in death by her husband, Tommy Moore; parents: Bernardo and Manuelita M. Villarreal; brother Bernardo Villarreal Jr.; and brothers-in-law: Oscar Salinas and Eulogio Garcia.

Ms. Moore is survived by her son, Neal Parker; daughters: Rosa (Romeo) Gonzalez, Guadalupe Castro, Ana Alaniz and Laura Parker; numerous grandchildren and greatgrandchildren; brothers: Roberto (Aminta) Villarreal and Fernando “Bob-

bie” Villarreal; sisters: Gloria V. Salinas and Viola V. Garcia; and sisterin-law, Ramona Villarreal.

Visitation hours were held Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

OLGA M. FLORES at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, at 9:45 for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83, Zapata.

Olga M. Flores passed away Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011, in San Antonio.

Ms. Flores is preceded in death by her husband, Benito C. Flores; parents: Manuel Martinez and Maria Nieto; brothers: Pedro Flores and Benjamin Flores; and son-in-law, Javier Treviño.

Ms. Flores is survived by her daughters: Alicia Reyes Lopez (Ignacio), Norma R. Mendoza (Jaime Mendoza), Dalia F. Arreola (Ismael Arreola) and Esmeralda Treviño; grandchildren: Cesar Lopez, Olga Ma Ester Lopez (Carlos Reyes), Ignacio Lopez, III, Eduardo Lopez, Adrian Duran (Diana), San Juanita “Janie” Mendoza (Rudy Salinas), Monica Lee

Mendoza, Ismael (Delia) Arreola Jr., Rubi Adriana Zapata and Carlos Javier Talamante; and great-grandchildren: Gabriel A. Lopez, Edward Barron, Ashley Lopez, Tiffany Amber Lopez, Christine Duran, Trinity Marie Duran, Shelby Lynn

Duran, R.J. Salinas and Daniella Aimee Mendez.

Visitation hours were held Monday, Feb. 7, 2011, at 8 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession departed Monday, Feb. 7, 2011, at 10:45 for an 11 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Cremation arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83, Zapata.

‘Egypt is Free,’ chant the multitudes

By MAGGIE MICHAEL AND LEE KEATH ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAIRO — Cries of “Egypt is free” rang out and fireworks lit up the sky as hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium Friday after 18 days of peaceful pro-democracy protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to surrender power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.

Ecstatic protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir, or Liberation, Square hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with people streaming out to celebrate. Strangers hugged each other, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief.

Chants of “Hold your heads high, you’re Egyptian” roared with each burst of fireworks overhead.

“I’m 21 years old and this is the first time in my life I feel free,” an ebullient Abdul-Rahman Ayyash, born eight years after Mubarak came to power, said as he hugged fellow protesters in Tahrir Square.

An astonishing day in which hundreds of thousands marched on Mubarak’s palaces in Cairo and Alexandria and besieged state TV was capped by the military effectively carrying out a coup at the pleas of protesters.

After Mubarak’s fall, the military, which pledged to shepherd reforms for greater democracy, told the nation it would announce the next steps soon. Those could include the dissolving of parliament and creation of a transitional government.

Mubarak’s downfall at the hands of the biggest popular uprising in the modern history of the Arab world had stunning implications for the United States and the West, Israel, and the region, unsettling rulers across the Mideast.

The 82-year-old leader epitomized the complex trade-off the United States was locked into in the Middle East for decades: Support for autocratic leaders in return for stability, a bulwark against Islamic militants, a safeguard of economic interests with

Photo by Ben Curtis | AP

A protester holds a placard in support of the Al-Jazeera television channel, outside the Egyptian state television building, in downtown Cairo on Friday. Revelers swept joyously into the streets across the Middle East on Friday after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt’s president. From Beirut to Gaza, tens of thousands handed out candy, set off fireworks and unleashed celebratory gunfire, and the governments of Jordan, Iraq and Sudan sent their blessings. the oil-rich Gulf states and peace — or at least an effort at peace — with Israel.

The question for Washington now was whether that same arrangement will hold as the Arab world’s most populous state makes a potentially rocky transition to democracy, with no guarantee of the results.

At the White House, President Barack Obama said “Egyptians have inspired us.” He noted the important questions that lay ahead, but said, “I’m confident the people of Egypt can find the answers.”

The United States at times seemed overwhelmed during the upheaval, fumbling to juggle its advocacy of democracy and the right to protest, its loyalty to longtime ally Mubarak and its fears the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood — or more radical groups — could gain a foothold.

Mubarak’s fall came 32 years to

Photo by Ben Curtis | AP

Anti-government protesters sit around a sign reading "1. 2. 3. Egypt is now free.

11-2-2011" as they celebrate the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt, on Friday. The protests were sparked in part by similar protests earlier in Tunisia. the day after the collapse of the shah’s government in Iran, the prime example of a revolution that turned to Islamic militancy.

In Egypt, persecuted democracy activists frequently denounced the U.S. government for not com-

ing down harder on Mubarak’s rights abuses.

Washington’s mixed messages during the crisis frustrated the young protesters.

They argued that while the powerful Muslim Brotherhood will have to be allowed to play a fu-

ture political role, its popularity would be diminished in an open system where other ideologies are freed to outweigh it.

Neighboring Israel watched the crisis with unease, worried that their 1979 peace treaty could be in danger. It quickly demanded on Friday that post-Mubarak Egypt continue to adhere to it.

Any break seems unlikely in the near term. The military leadership supports the treaty. AntiIsraeli feeling is strong among Egyptians, and a more democratic government may take a tougher line toward Israel in the chronically broken-down peace process. But few call for outright abrogating a treaty that has kept peace in the past half-century.

From the oil-rich Gulf states in the east to Morocco in the west, regimes both pro- and anti-U.S. could not help but worry that they could see similar upheavals.

Several of the region’s rulers have made pre-emptive gestures of democratic reform to avert their own protest movements.

The lesson many took: If it could happen in only three weeks in Egypt, where Mubarak’s lock on power appeared unshakable, it could happen anywhere. Only a month earlier, Tunisia’s president was forced to step down in the face of protests.

“This is the greatest day of my life,” Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose supporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, said.

“The country has been liberated after decades of repression,” he said adding that he expects a “beautiful” transition of power.

Perhaps most surprising was the genesis of the force that overthrew Mubarak.

The protests were started by a small core of secular, liberal youth activists organizing on the Internet who only a few months earlier struggled to gather more than 100 demonstrators at a time.

But their work through Facebook and other social network sites over the past few years built greater awareness and bitterness among Egyptians over issues like police abuse and corruption.

“Facebook brought down the regime,” said Sally Toma, one of the main protest organizers.

14A LAREDO MORNING TIMES

FOOD Continued from Page 1A

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Strong quake cuts power, phones in Chile

By EVA VERGARA

monthly, mostly in Laredo and Webb County. An annual $120 personal donation allows a family to receive a bag of groceries each month for one year.Former Zapata residents, the late Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez, were avid supporters of the adopt-a-family program.

The Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation has donated more than $100,000 to it over the last four years, including money earmarked for their native Zapata.

The South Texas Food Bank has received more than 1,500 pounds of deer meat from the Ranchers for the Hungry program, coordinated by the STFB’s Pancho Farias.

The program, which includes deer hunters, was started by Laredo hunger advocate Robert Laurel and his cousin, Oscar M. Laurel Jr., two years ago at their Zapata ranch when they harvested more than 100 does that yielded more than 3,000 pounds of meat.

Longtime South Texas Food Bank board member Galo Garcia, also a Zapata rancher, donated deer meat for the recent Pan de Vida Kids Café grand opening at the Agua Viva Church Community Center in El Cenizo.

“We’ve received deer and now donations of steer are coming,” Farias noted.

The South Texas Food Bank is working with the group to get donations during the Feb. 20-26 LIFE Fair in Laredo.

The food bank serves 350,000 people in an eightcounty area and distributed a record 12.4 million pounds of product in 2010.

The food bank is a nonprofit 501 c-3 organization that serves 22,000 families.

Tax deductible donations can be sent to P.O. Box 2007, Laredo, TX, 78044. The phone number is 726-3120 and the website is www.southtexasfoodbank,org. It is also on Facebook (South Texas Food Bank) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/SoTxFoodBank). It is at 1907 Freight and Riverside, Laredo.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAUQUENES, Chile — A magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck central Chile Friday, centered in almost exactly the same spot where last year’s magnitude-8.8 quake spawned a tsunami and devastated coastal communities.

Electricity and phone service were disrupted and thousands of people fled to higher ground following Friday’s quake, but the government quickly announced that there was no risk of a tsunami, and there were no reports of damage or injuries.

In the following hours, a dozen aftershocks ranging from magnitude-3.9 to magnitude-6.3 shook the seismically active area.

President Sebastian Pinera appealed for calm and praised his government and Chileans in general for responding.

“Today we’re better prepared,” Pinera said. “I think we’ve learned the lesson of Feb. 27, 2010.”

Rodrigo Ubilla, the vice interior minister, said the navy had “totally discount-

ed any risk of a tsunami.”

Still, the strong earthquake frightened many Chileans, especially along the coast, where people quickly moved to higher ground.

“There was a preventive self-evacuation,” said Vicente Nunez, who directs the National Emergency Office, ONEMI. But he said Chileans could safely return home.

Residents fled their homes in Talcahuano, a port city whose center was ravaged last year by huge walls of water that sent shipping containers and fishing boats into downtown buildings and streets, municipal spokesman Javier Gonzalez told The Associated Press.

Skyscrapers swayed in the capital of Santiago, and in the inland town of Cauquenes, mothers ran into the streets carrying babies in their arms.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck offshore, about 30 miles north of the city of Concepcion.

The epicenter was relatively close to the coast, at 36 degrees south latitude and 73 degrees west longitude

Photo by Francisco Negroni | AP

A woman holds a child as they stand outside a building as a precaution after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake in Concepcion, Chile, on Friday. The earthquake struck in almost exactly the same spot where last year’s magnitude-8.8 quake spawned a tsunami and devastated coastal communities.

— almost exactly where the Feb. 27, 2010 earthquake was centered. Friday’s quake was half as deep, at 11 miles, as the devastating temblor of Feb. 27, 2010.

And while last year’s massive quake killed at least 521 people and left 200,000 homeless, this time it seemed that Chile emerged relatively unscathed. Chilean officials

measured movement in the ocean but said there was no risk of a tsunami.

The reason last year’s quake generated a tsunami while Friday’s quake at roughly the same spot didn’t even spark a warning was largely a function of strength, with the 8.8magnitude quake being about 800 times larger in terms of energy released, said Nathan Becker, of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

People in Talcahuano weren’t taking any chances. The compact city center is at the base of a bay and surrounded by hills, forming a bowl where the ocean drained and then came back with a vengeance last year.

Friday’s quake caused a blackout in Concepcion, another city still recovering from last year’s disaster. And across the country, Chileans jammed cell phone networks trying to make sure their families were OK. In Cauquenes, a small town almost directly west of the epicenter, mothers ran into the streets carrying babies in their arms.

MEXICO Continued from Page 1A and two armored vehicles.

One person was arrested, officials said. The name of the arrested person was not released.

“On Feb. 8, we were the subject of attacks in Nuevo Laredo, where four armed men died,” the statement reads. “Military personnel were attacked to the west of the city.”

The alleged criminals died in the crossfire that resulted as soldiers sought to repel the attack, officials said.

In that one incident, soldiers seized an automobile, five rifles, 70 loaders, 1,640 rounds of ammunition of different calibers, 4,100 pesos and $5

cash.

On the highway connecting Ciudad Mier and Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, the bulletin states, soldiers were assisted by federal police after they were attacked “by armed men identified with organized crime.”

One of the alleged criminals died in that confrontation. Five rifles, several grenades, 1,580 rounds of ammunition and 61 loaders were seized.

At Los Guerra, part of the municipality of Miguel Alemán, a confrontation resulted in the deaths of three alleged criminals. A news release from Mexico’s national Department of Defense states that the soldiers

were attacked by armed men and they responded in kind. After the air cleared, soldiers seized three firearms, 18 loaders and 305 rounds of ammunition of different calibers.

Along the national highway between Reynosa and Matamoros, in the town of Lucio Blanco, soldiers ran into a group of armed men and two of the alleged criminals were killed in the exchange of gunfire.

At that scene, soldiers confiscated a vehicle that had been reported stolen, six rifles, 37 loaders and 1,681 clips of ammunition of different calibers.

There were no reports of any injuries to soldiers

involved in any of the confrontations.

The national Department of Defense also reported that: In Nuevo Laredo, soldiers secured a vehicle and 200 bundles of what was believed to be marijuana on Monday. That same day, at the World Trade Bridge, officials detained six people and seized two tractor-trailer rigs loaded with undeclared merchandise.

In Ciudad Mier, solders were attacked by armed gunmen last Saturday. After the confrontation, soldiers recovered five rifles, 16 loaders, 255 rounds of ammunition of different calibers and camouflage clothing. No

lives were lost, officials said.

In Miguel Alemán, soldiers on patrol last Sunday noticed dirt had been turned over in a large area near the Rio Grande. Upon inspection, the soldiers discovered several large metal drums had been buried. Inside the drums, they found two rifles, three grenades, six loaders and 5,680 round of ammunition of different calibers.

In Díaz Ordaz, solders on routine patrol Feb. 7 seized two rifles, 50 clips, three loaders and 120 bundles of marijuana weighing about 400 pounds. No other information about the confiscation was released.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

NFL

Co-champs Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

NFL Players Assocation executive director DeMaurice Smith, right, responds to a question as the association’s president Kevin Mawae, left, looks on during a news conference on Feb. 3 in Dallas.

Player agents’ take on NFL labor: a ’mess’

By BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS Courtesy Photo

The Zapata Lady Hawks celebrate their co-district championship with cake following Tuesday’s win over Rio Grande City La Grulla.

Lady Hawks win a share of district title

By CLARA SANDOVAL ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata Lady Hawks’ biggest game of the year came down to the last regular season finale with a share of the district title at stake.

With a playoff spot tightly secured in their pockets, the only question that was left to solve

was if the Lady Hawks had enough energy to beat a pesky Rio Grande City La Grulla team which was in its first year of competing on the varsity level.

The Lady Hawks, however, fought through and beat La Grulla on Tuesday to claim another District 32-3A Co-District championship under coach Clyde Guerra.

“Being district co-champions is a great honor for our program,” Guerra said. “Our girls have worked hard for this goal all year.”

The Lady Hawks shared the title with Rio Hondo and will head into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed while the Lady Bobcats will be

See ZAPATA PAGE 2B

Bonds’ perjury trial approaches Slugger to enter plea for a third time since charged in 2007

NEW YORK — NFL owners have been heard on the labor front. So have the players.

What about the agents?

Some say they aren’t expecting much progress in negotiations between the NFL and the players’ union before the collective bargaining agreement expires March 3.

“The reason for that date is it’s the end of the league year,” said Joe Linta, who represents Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and three dozen other players. “Sure, an extension could be coming. If I still believe in Santa Claus, I still have hope.”

Linta is among many agents who believe every other issue will get resolved quickly enough once the owners and union agree on how to split nearly $9 billion in revenues.

The owners get $1 billion off the top for operating expenses

By PAUL ELIAS

See NFL LABOR PAGE 2B

NFL

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds’ perjury trial is fast approaching and the lawyers and judge are still scrambling to set limits and rules for the monthlong proceedings scheduled to start March 21.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered Bonds to enter a plea for the third time since he was initially charged in 2007 with lying to a grand jury about his steroids use. The new plea was needed because prosecutors the day before filed a revised indictment, cutting the number of charges Bonds faces from 11 to five.

Bonds is expected to plead not guilty when he is arraigned March 1, the same day the judge ordered the slugger’s former trainer to appear in court.

Illston wants Greg Anderson to reiterate in front of her and under oath his refusal to testify against Bonds during the trial.

Illston plans to jail Anderson on contempt of court charges for the duration of the trial if he follows through on his pledge. Anderson’s attorney, Mark Geragos, said Anderson won’t testify.

What to tell the jury about Anderson’s vow of silence was brought up during the hearing Friday. Even without his testimony, Anderson is still expected to play a large role in the trial. Prosecutors allege he supplied Bonds with steroids and instructed him on how to use them. Anderson’s name and actions will be mentioned by others during the trial, including current Major Leaguer Jason Giambi and several former players the government intends to call to the witness stand. The players are expected to testify

and are seeking an additional $1 billion. The players note how popular the league is, with record TV ratings, and say they shouldn’t have to take a pay cut.

“It’s all about money, as it always is,” he said Friday, “and everything will flow from there once there’s a macro agreement.”

Ralph Cindrich has been through every labor dispute between players and owners dating back to the 1970s and the union’s infancy. While saying of the state of negotiations “it’s fair to call it a mess,” Cindrich also concludes “it’s too early to panic” and when both parties want to seriously negotiate, they will.

“When they come to the time period when decisions need to be made, that’s when they will get down to something,” said Cindrich, who represents Steelers linebacker James Farrior and Colts center Jeff Saturday

NFL free agency at risk in 2011

By TERESA M. WALKER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP

San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds sits in the dugout during the Giants’ baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco on May 14, 2006. that Anderson supplied them with steroids.

"The jury deserves to be told something," Illston told the lawyers. "We owe them something about why he’s not testifying."

Lawyers on both sides agreed, telling the judge they were developing a plan on what to tell the jury.

Illston put off ruling on the other major issue put before her Friday. Bonds asked her to exclude from trial a recording made by Bonds’ former business partner, Stevie Hoskins.

Prosecutors said the recording captures a conversation between Hoskins and Anderson

while they stood in front of Bonds’ San Francisco Giants locker in March 2003.

Prosecutors allege the two are discussing Bonds’ steroids use.

Bonds’ attorneys want the recording excluded because of Anderson’s refusal to testify.

They argue that the recording can’t be authenticated without Anderson’s testimony.

They also dispute that it can be proven the conversation is about steroids. One of Bonds’ six attorneys, Dennis Horgan, told the judge Friday that the conversation could have been about legal substances.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jason Babin has won the gamble he took by signing a one-year deal with Tennessee.

The defensive end racked up a career-high 121/2 sacks and earned his first Pro Bowl berth.

But all his hard work may not pay off in a multimillion dollar deal.

NFL labor strife will likely mean Babin won’t be wined and dined on an owner’s private jet during free agency.

With the collective bargaining agreement expiring March 3, Babin and other would-be free agents face the very real possibility that they get ordered back to their old teams at the bargain basement price of 120 percent of their last salary. Play another season, risk serious injury. And wait.

“That’s really scary to me,” Babin said. “That definitely wouldn’t be good timing. Hey, there’s so many guys in a similar situation as myself with contracts expiring, it would be unfair practice and I think a lot would have a huge problem with it.”

Babin has lots of company in facing this nightmare scenario.

More than 700 NFL players have contracts expiring with the labor deal, a group that includes players like Indianapolis

Photo by Mark Humphrey | AP

Tennessee Titans defensive end Jason Babin looks on during practice in Nashville, Tenn, on May 18, 2010. He and other would-be free agents face the possibility of being ordered back to their old teams at the bargain basement price of 120 percent of their last salary for the season. running back Joseph Addai finishing up his fourth season in the league to Titans linebacker Stephen Tulloch who missed out on free agency in 2010 when rules for the final year of the CBA allowed Tennessee to keep him with a one-year deal.

How many years a player

See FREE AGENCY PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Texas’ tweetin’ troubles Brown denies offending tweet

By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yankees remember Roger Maris

By RONALD BLUM

AUSTIN — Texas point guard J’Covan Brown said Friday that he didn’t write profane Twitter posts under his account that complained about getting pulled from the No. 3 Longhorns’ win over Oklahoma.

Brown said a cousin he declined to identify posted the offending tweets after the game and said he has apologized to his teammates. The Twitter account has been deactivated.

“I’ve got to take responsibility for all the negative things that he put,” on the account, Brown said. “I’m sorry for everything. I learned my lesson. It was a tough lesson to learn ... the Twitter page is gone.

He was making me look like a negative person.”

Texas (21-3) plays Baylor (16-7) at home on Saturday.

Brown played only 16 minutes and didn’t score in the 68-52 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Brown averages 9.0 points and was the catalyst behind a late surge in Texas’ 76-60 win over Texas Tech just a few days earlier.

Texas senior forward Gary Johnson said Brown’s teammates have accepted his explanation and support him.

“His actions on the court and off the court don’t show what was said on his Twitter page,” Johnson said. “Obviously, he’s the most unselfish player on this team. He sacrifices a lot day in and day out for this team.”

used by Maris and later Thurman Munson, and out in Monument Park on the chilly morning he read the words on the plaque put up in Maris’ honor in 1984, a year before his death.

Frankie Prudente, a Yankees batboy from 195661, also came along for the tour along with Rosemarie Durante, Durante’s fiance at the time of the catch and now his wife.

Sal Durante remembered back to that Sunday morning Oct. 1, the final day of the regular season.

The powerhouse Yankees, led by Mickey Mantle and Maris, already had clinched their 11th AL pennant in 13 years.

Durante lived in Brooklyn at the time. He recalled it as a quiet morning.

“It was like kind of boring,” Durante said. “How ’bout if we go to the Yankee Stadium? I said it’s the last game. I’d like to catch something in practice, that’s really what I wanted to do, catch any baseball in practice. It wound up that she paid for the tickets, because I had no money.”

Years earlier, a foul ball had glanced off his hands at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. He wanted another chance.

“Turns out I didn’t get anything in practice,” he said with a smile, “but I got the big one.”

When they got to their seats, three were together in one row, with one in the row behind. Sal and Rosemarie went with Sal’s cousin and the cou-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Fifty years later, Sal Durante was back at Yankee Stadium — the new one — and thought about the afternoon that made him a little bit famous.

Roger Maris hit home run No. 61, breaking Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old record that had been thought to be unbreakable, and the ball went into the rightfield seats and landed in the palm of Durante’s right hand on that October afternoon in 1961.

An enduring record

AP photo

Texas guard J’Covan Brown shoots in front of Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger, rear, during the first half in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday.

A gifted offensive player who sometimes dazzles, Brown also has drawn attention for his visible frustration a few times this season when coach Rick Barnes has pulled him off the court.

Barnes said the coach and player talked about the Twitter posts on the plane ride home Thursday morning.

Barnes allows his players to have social media accounts, but warns them about being careful what they, or anyone else, posts under their name.

“There’s always somebody watching,” Barnes said. “We want them to know they have a respon-

sibility not only to themselves and their family, but to the university and their teammates.

“We believe in freedom of speech,” Barnes said. “I don’t think real discipline is making a bunch of rules and hiding behind rules.”

Brown said he is generally uninterested in social media but allowed the cousin to open the Twitter account that purported to be him. Brown said the cousin apologized to him.

“Most of the time he just put our games up there and how I did,” Brown said. “He got caught up in the moment.”

Maris’ record lasted until 1998, when Mark McGwire hit 70. Three years later, Barry Bonds hit 73.

“How ’bout if I just say Roger deserved it,” Durante said Friday. “He did it on his own, you know, the skill. He deserved it.

Roger I still think holds the record.”

McGwire admitted last year he used steroids when he broke Maris’ record, and Bonds goes on trial next month on charges he lied when he told a federal grand jury he didn’t knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.

Durante, now 69, walked around the ballpark for the first time Friday, looking at pictures on the wall of the suite level of himself posing with Maris a half-century ago. In the Yankees Museum, he examined the locker once

NFL LABOR Continued from Page 1B among many others.

A key issue is the owners’ intent to include a rookie wage scale, which Linta calls “way overblown” and Peter Schaffer, agent for All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas, says is “scouting insurance against poor selection decisions.”

The rookie wage scale proposed by the owners would cover a five-year period. Many players and their representatives say that translates into a veteran wage scale, too, by limiting earnings for players whose average career is less than five years.

Besides, Schaffer says in an e-mail to The Associated Press, a rookie wage scale would not really help NFL owners’ spending concerns, and it would damage college football by causing a rush of underclassmen turning pro earlier so they could get to free agency quicker.

“The reality is that the current NFL draft system in its entirety is a tremendous economic windfall to the NFL teams,” Schaffer

front,” Parker told Sirius NFL Radio on Friday, “and if that is the case you will see more and more agents focusing on the vet players than on the rookie players.”

Expanding the regular season to 18 games is negotiable in the view of the dozen agents interviewed by the AP. Each of them cited player safety and the increased chance for injuries as the major stumbling block to a longer regular season.

Don Yee, who represents league MVP Tom Brady, suggested a longer season be accompanied by increased roster size from 53 players to 58, all eligible to play on game day; currently, only 45 can suit up, plus a third quarterback. He also would institute a rule that prohibits any player from appearing in more than 16 games.

“This compromise will create even more interest from fans,” Yee said.

“What two games will the head coach sit the starting QB? That’s a discussion

said, “as it provides a large source of cheap, young labor to the league signed for contracts exceeding four years.

That’s not true for the highest picks in the draft — Rams quarterback Sam Bradford signed a deal with $50 million guaranteed as the top selection last year. But, as Linta mentions, the extremely lucrative contracts go to a dozen or fewer rookies.

Devin McCourty, selected 27th overall last April, received $10 million over five years, which Schaffer said was not in the top 60 for cornerbacks. McCourty started for New England and made the Pro Bowl.

Eugene Parker, who has Ndamukong Suh, the Defensive Rookie of the Year, among his clients, sees a rookie wage scale as an incentive for agents to potentially not represent players coming out of college.

“It could be a scenario like basketball where the salaries are fixed and there really is little negotiating room for the agent up

sin’s girlfriend at the time. Rosemarie originally took the solo seat.

“Just before Roger hit it, I guess it was the inning before, I said, ’You know what — switch seats with me. Let me sit up there, I know the game. And that’s what we did. We just happened to switch in the nick of time.”

There was a sparse crowd of 23,154 that day.

Maris’ fourth-inning smash off Boston’s Tracy Stallard went to Durante’s hand on a line drive.

“Didn’t hurt,” he said.

“I can’t explain it. I didn’t feel a thing.”

Two security cards took him through the right-field bullpen to meet Maris — so fast that Durante didn’t even have time to tell Rosemarie where he was going.

“I turned around, and he was gone,” she said.

Money ball A few weeks later, Durante sold the ball for $5,000 to Sam Gordon of Sam’s Original Ranch Wagon restaurant, who as part of the deal gave the ball to Maris. The hitter donated it to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

“I was taking home $60 a week. That was like almost a year-and-a-half ’s pay if you figure it out,” Durante said. “So I gave my parents $2,500 of it because they were in debt, and I wanted to help them out. I always wanted to help them out as a kid.”

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1B that will set sports talk radio airwaves afire.

“This compromise will also be popular with coaches and general managers who want a greater opportunity to develop younger players. The NFL doesn’t have a minor league, and this compromise will force meaningful participation by younger players on the roster.

“Players also would endorse this because each would effectively get two bye weeks during the year.

Bye weeks afford important healing time and personal time away from the game.”

The agents get their information on negotiations from the NFLPA and its player representatives.

They say the lines of communication have been good thus far.

“Technically, he has no obligation to us,” Linta says of union head DeMaurice Smith. “We are piano players, nobodies in the process. But he is keeping us informed and making it timely.”

the No. 1 seed.

Zapata (10-2, 20-6) is back in the playoffs after missing out last year and will embark on its playoff run on Monday.

“Our girls will be ready for the challenge. We feel we match up with anybody,” Guerra said.

The Lady Hawks play Corpus Christi Miller at Bishop High School for the Region IV Class 3A bi-district championship. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Gates will open at 6 p.m. for fans and all of Hawk nation is encouraged to attend.

Seniors that played in their final game in the regular season were Selina Mata, Brandi King, Cassie Quintanilla, Karen Villa and Kristabell Salazar.

The Lady Hawks also boast a core of underclassmen that have been vital to Zapata’s success.

Juniors Jackie Salinas, Jackie Gutierrez, Estella Molina and Shelby Bigler are set to take over the reigns of the Zapata program, while sophomores Aly Jo Gutierrez, Liana

Zapata (10-2, 20-6) is back in the playoffs after missing out last year and will embark on its playoff run on Monday.

Flores and Kristina De Leon have contributed tremendously in just their first year of varsity competition.

The Lady Hawks, who are deep in their bench, will rely on a pesky defense and explosive offense that can put some points on the board in their quest for a bidistrict title Monday night.

“Our inside game has great presence and our guards can shoot from anywhere and run the floor well. Playing aggressive defense will be the key to this game,” Guerra said.

FREE AGENCY Continued from Page 1B needs to reach free agency is something that could change in a new labor deal.

There are veterans like Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, who might to decide to retire after 16 NFL seasons. Tennessee fullback Ahmard Hall signed his first league deal as a free agent in 2006, and the former Marine is ready to capitalize on blocking for a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his five pro seasons.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway was a Pro Bowl alternate this season and with his five years’ experience could find himself not eligible for free agency. He doesn’t know what’s happening this offseason with his family wanting to know where they’ll live next.

“For me, of course you’re anxious because you want to know what’s going to

happen, but at the same time ... you can’t do too much about it. Just going to stay patient,” Greenway said recently.

Then there’s Babin.

The Titans are his fifth NFL team in seven seasons.

A first-round pick out of Western Michigan in 2004

by Houston, the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Babin didn’t fit in as the outside rushing linebacker they wanted. He had just 13 sacks in his three seasons with the Texans before Houston traded him to Seattle in September 2007.

He played four games before the Seahawks released him a year later. Kansas City signed him as a free agent in November 2008, and Babin landed in Philadelphia in August 2009 where he played in 12 games with 21/2 sacks. Ba-

bin signed an offer for $1 million with Tennessee on March 19, and the Eagles declined to match.

For the kid who once dragged a tire down the streets of Paw Paw, Mich., trying to prepare himself for the NFL, Tennessee proved the perfect defense for Babin as he turned in the best year of his professional career. He had 58 tackles, those 121/2 sacks and forced two fumbles in a performance that earned him a trip to Hawaii as a starter.

Babin is back home in Texas with his family and says he tries not to worry about what he has little control over.

“There’s so many moving parts to this and so many people that will be affected by it, it would be atrocious on the owner’s side of

things to forego the season ... they would be looked on by the public as monsters. I don’t think they want that,” Babin said.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association met for a few hours Wednesday, then canceled Thursday’s session.

Teammates elected Babin as an assistant player’s representative during the season, so he stays in touch updating fellow players because they all want to know the latest information whenever they run into each other or talk on the phone.

“It’s in everybody’s minds,” he said.

Babin said he has been planning a long time for whatever happens in 2011 in case the NFL suffers its first stoppage in play since 1987 and feels he’s been

pretty wise. He has a side business running a hunting ranch in Texas. He’s much more worried about younger players.

“Those guys in their second or third year that don’t have much saved or don’t have much direction if things do go south. That’s who I think is really in the most jeopardy and most concern in my mind,” Babin said.

“Everyone’s been talking about it. It’s obvious the owners have been preparing for it for three years secretly so they think it’s a real possibility to at least prepare for it. I’m glad now I’m kind of on the inside to see the truth of what’s really going on. It’s something that happens every ... 25 years it seems like. It’s the NFL timetable.”

Tennessee is a team Ba-

bin wanted to return to with a new contract. But his defensive line coach Jim Washburn is now in Philadelphia, the Titans parted with coach Jeff Fisher at the end of January after 16 full seasons as head coach and replaced him by promoting offensive line coach Mike Munchak on Monday.

So Babin isn’t sure yet what defense will be run until Munchak hires a new coordinator and line coach.

He just monitors the situation closely with friends texting him updates every time something new happens in Nashville. He’s staying busy living life as a father and husband as he usually does each offseason.

Though this offseason brings this new twist.

“There’s definitely a wait and see,” Babin said.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

HINTS BY | HELOISE Dear Readers: A PET COLLAR is a collar, right?

Nope, not all collars are the same.

Some collars, called breakaway collars, have latches that release under pressure so the animal won’t get caught on fences, furniture, etc.

Make sure any collar is not too tight or too loose.

You should be able to slip two fingers comfortably under the collar.

A harness may fit your dog better than a collar, and be more comfortable. Have someone at the pet shop help you get a correct fit!

If you are traveling with your pet, make sure you have a cell-phone number or other contact number on the tags or collar.

Jangling tags can be noisy. Secure them with clear tape, or apply adhesive felt between the tags.

(You may want an outdoor cat’s tags to jangle so birds can be aware.)

A collar should have a tag with your name and phone number on it, because when reading a microchip is not possible, this may help your pet get home safely.

-- Heloise SHARING BIRDSEED Dear Heloise: I have a canary, and anyone who

“

HELOISE

owns a bird knows that there is a lot of wasted food. I always pour the old seed into a container, keep this for winter days and toss it in the yard a little each day. The wild birds just love it. I also keep the bread ends and toss them out. -- Terry, via e-mail LINT ROLLER Dear Heloise: I solved my problem of pets shedding against my verticals made of fabric and against the bottom of furniture. I went to my dollar store and bought a few lint rollers, rolled a lint roller against the verticals and the furniture, and the hair came right off. -- Alice, via e-mail CAT CAUGHT ON CRATE Dear Heloise: My cat likes to sleep on a blanket atop a pet crate. I would smile at the cuteness of his action, until the day he made a horrific wailing sound. Charlie had his left hind leg caught between the wires of the crate. Fortunately, this happened on a weekend and not during the workweek. -- Margaret, via e-mail

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Jason Burnside Broker (830)570-1079

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All New Bar-B Q Pits Heavy Duty 1/4inch new casing. Top quality weld. Last a lifetime, all sizes available $200 & up Call Cesar 763-0143

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Sport

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Knaus emulates NFL ideas No. 48 crew uses depth chart

By CHRIS JENKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chad Knaus sounds more like an NFL coach than a NASCAR crew chief when he talks about his plans to improve Jimmie Johnson’s pit stops.

He’ll have his starters.

And if they don’t perform up to par, he’ll send them to the bench.

As if there weren’t enough pressure on the pit crew for the Sprint Cup series’ five-time defending champion, Knaus is raising the stakes going into the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.

“It depends on how you look at it,” Knaus said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “The way I see it, competition is healthy. If you’re sitting in an NFL team, an NBA team, a baseball team — whatever it is — there’s somebody that wants your job. And that’s the way that we want it here.”

Johnson won his fifth straight championship last season, but it wasn’t easy.

With the No. 48 team facing problems with its pit stops, Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon switched crews late in the season.

Then came an offseason shake-up, which included Hendrick Motorsports’ version of a scouting combine: open tryouts for crew guys.

Now Knaus has his starters and a small pool of backups from which to choose; it’s a partnership with Hendrick’s No. 88 team, which also can draw from the same backup pool for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pit crew.

Some of the backups hold other jobs at Hendrick.

“From that what I saw (it’s) a very, very strong first and second string of guys,” Johnson said.

“That’s our plan, to make sure we have depth and if

Photo by Jeff Chiu | AP

Fedor Emelianenko, of Russia, fights Fabricio Werdum in a Strikeforce/M-1 Global mixed martial arts match in San Jose, Calif, on June 26.

Fedor headlines Strikeforce

By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by John Raoux | AP

Driver Jimmie Johnson answers questions on auto racing during NASCAR media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Thursday. someone is hurt or having a bad day we can make changes and not lose anything on pit road.”

Knaus said other teams are taking similar steps to increase the depth of their pit crews.

“Every team in the garage has some type of developmental system set up, scouting system, there’s a lot of that that goes on,” Knaus said. “It’s just, this is the first time that it’s kind of gone to this level.”

Knaus said he could change his lineup from week to week, and even

make changes during a race.

“I hope that it doesn’t come to that,” Knaus said.

“But in another sense, I kind of hope that it does, because that means that we’ve got guys that are pushing other guys to a level that they’re better than they are on a weekly basis.”

Still, Knaus knows it will take time for the new crew to establish chemistry, and he’s prepared to be patient.

“If you guys think that we’re going to go out there and have the fastest pit

crew on pit road starting at Daytona for the Daytona 500, you’re probably mistaken,” Knaus said.

He said his crew has responded well to the team’s new philosophy.

“It’s quite simple: If you don’t buy into it, you don’t like it, you don’t have to be a part of our team,” Knaus said. “That’s the way that it is. And the guys we’ve got, they like it, they embrace it and they’re enjoying it. I’ve seen more effort coming out of our weight room and our training facility than I’ve seen in years.”

NEW YORK — Fedor Emelianenko is out to prove he’s still the best in the world.

The Russian mixed martial arts star is the favorite to win the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix, which begins Saturday night at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. A sellout crowd is expected to see Emelianen-

ko face Brazilian star Antonio Silva in the main event.

Former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski fights Sergei Kharitonov in the other quarterfinal.

The rest of the eight-man tournament gets going in April, when Alistair Overeem faces Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett takes on Brett Rogers for spots in the semifinals.

Emelianenko had not lost a match in about a decade before last June, when Werdum forced him to submit.